Korean project for blindness

Korea plans to start a new project in Bangladesh to reduce the burden of avoidable blindness.

Ambassador Lee Yun-young said the new project they were planning to implement from 2014 to 2018 with a budget of $ 7.5 million would support “reducing avoidable, preventable or treatable” blindness in
Bangladesh.

The ambassador made the announcement on Tuesday at the end of a training programme for mid-level ophthalmic assistants who help doctors in hospitals and clinics.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Heart to Heart Foundation of Korea jointly has been supporting a training centre at Gazipur for the last three years.

KOICA says the project was aimed at achieving Bangladesh’s 'Vision 2020' goal of ' Eye sight for All’,for which a large number of opthalmologists, nurses, assistant and paramedics would be needed.

Government statistics show about 0.75 million people aged 30 years and above are blind in Bangladesh with nearly 40,000 joining their ranks every year.

But about 80 percent of these blindness cases can be fixed by simple surgery.

The government signed the ‘vision 2020’ global campaign for elimination of avoidable blindness and adopted a national eye-care plan to achieve the target.

The ambassador said the new project would fit in well into the national plan.

He hoped that the training center would produce competent staff who would be able to narrow down the gap between demand and supply in eye care services.

KOICA Resident Representative in Bangladesh Kim Bok-Hee and Advisory member of Heart to Heart Foundation Dr. Kim Man Soo were present at the function, among others.