L V Prasad Eye Institute, a comprehensive eye health facility, today, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare (Government of Andhra Pradesh) to establish Newborn Eye Screening and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Control in the state. This will help to identify serious eye problems in the newborn that often get diagnosed very late and also eliminate ROP blindness by organized and efficient screening strategy.
ROP is one of the major emerging causes of childhood blindness in India and leads to incurable vision loss in prematurely born and low birth weight babies. WHO has identified ROP as one of its key areas for preventing childhood blindness under its Vision 2020, Right to Sight program.
Speaking on the occasion, in-charge Director of Public Health, Government of Andhra Pradesh said ‘The Government of India has allotted Rs 168.80 lakhs towards the Programme Implementation Plan for the Year 2012-13 to establish Newborn Eye Screening and the ROP-CAP Program in the state for this period. With the program implemented under the able guidance of LVPEI faculty, we are happy to extend support to ensure that no newborn baby including premature babies in Andhra Pradesh be needlessly blind or visually impaired by 2020’. LVPEI Head, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Dr Subhadra Jalaliin said ‘A newborn child requires comprehensive eye screening before discharge and again by 3 months of age, to detect any common birth defects that may be corrected by early and appropriate intervention.
In Premature/low birth weight babies, it is critical to do a dilated retinal examination before 20-30 days of life and conduct close followup till the baby’s retina is fully developed. The training program is aimed at creating a network of personnel and services to manage the problem of ROP in a cost effective manner at the patient’s doorstep’, Dr Jalaliin said. UNI