KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 8

The World Sight Day was observed by organising various programmes across the country today.

The day is being marked annually on the second Thursday of October. It is a global event meant to draw attention on blindness and vision impairment. It was initiated by the Sight First Campaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000. On the occasion, different organisations working for eye vision organised philanthropic activities including donating eyes, conducting operation to correct cataract and providing all kinds of eye treatment services.

Sanu KC, information officer at Tilganga Eye Hospital said the hospital conducted operation on 300 cataract patients, free of cost to mark the day. Some organisations refrained from conducting seminar and treatment camps due to the COVID-19 outbreak across the world this year.

According to statistics, 105,000 individuals are visually impaired while over one million people are partially impaired in Nepal. Out of this, around 60 per cent low vision is found among women. Statistics show that 66 per cent blindness could be treated while 16 per cent could be prevented if treated in time. According to a survey conducted in 2014, 0.6 per cent children have blindness.

Feature image: File

A version of this article appears in print on October 09, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.