The government has introduced the National Ophthalmic Health Policy-2017 for enhancing the quality of and expanding ophthalmic health services in the country. 

A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday passed the policy tabled by the Health Ministry. 

The policy aims to make ophthalmic health services accessible to all the citizens, enhance the quality of eye care services and provide easy access to education and rehabilitation for the blind. 

Its main objective is to minimise blindness by ensuring the availability of specialist ophthalmic services employing the available means and resources through partnership between the government and other stakeholders in line with the government’s policy of universal access to health care, according to Pratap Poudel, advisor to the Health Minister Gagan Thapa. 

As per the policy, the primary eye treatment and care centres run at the health posts and primary hospitals would be integrated into the existing primary health system with emphasis on the development and expansion of preventive services for the elimination of blindness that could be cured. 

As well as formulating programmes for the prevention of every type of eye disease, the policy states that sufficient human resources would be prepared for increasing the accessibility of ophthalmic health services to the general public, extend services would be extended in all the geographical regions and administrative units with special emphasis on the development of the required infrastructure. 

The policy also has the strategy to adopt a special programme to address the major causes of blindness or loss of vision as cataract, vision impairment, blindness among children, corneal ulcer, irritation of the eye, diabetes, retinopathy and low vision.