Universal Eye Health Online Tutoring
Road Map to Universal Eye Health:
Visual Impairment is a grave issue in the world today, every individual face eye issue once in their lifetime. Currently, two billion individuals all around the world face visual impairment or in other cases blindness among which one billion could have been saved from visual impairment through good treatment (WHO, 2019). The World Health Organization have noticed the Universal Eye Health issue and have introduced public goals for the countries to decrease the issue and eventually eradicate it. It was first introduced in 2013, the global eye health plan was from 2014 to 2019 to address the visual impairment issues. It focuses on the incorporation of the eye care programs into the broader health care system in all the sectors (WHO, 2013). Another one was introduced as VISION 2020 global strategy in 1999, to eliminate the avoidable visual impairment when necessary. This targeted at eliminating the visual impairment cases by the year 2020 (Blanchet, Gilbert & De Savigny, 2014). The goals are applicable to all the country members of WHO, however, the developing countries are not able to overcome visual impairment issue due to low technological access in the countries. This essay will focus on the developing or low income countries that can decrease the number individual that have visual impairment or to help those who can avoid blindness.
The low income countries and the developing countries are the main target of the organizations to achieve the goals in order to be free of any disease or health issue. In case of the blindness challenge to be tackled an individual needs an extra 5.8 dollars between the time period from 2010 to 2020. Moreover, fourty-eight percent of the total investment is needed in the developing countries. This can only be achieved if the health care sector in the country work to their full capacity to eliminate the issue (Blanchet, Gilbert & De Savigny, 2014). The developing countries utilizes local eye-care procedures to help themselves in strengthening the eye care facilities. The World Health Organization address these procedures and have introduced programs to help the countries tackle the issue. Through these plans the countries are encouraged to cooperate with the important stakeholders like NGOS and the private division to work together in evolving different chances to communicate with the citizens about their plans and important policies (Ramke, Zwi, Silva, Mwangi, Rono, Gichangi, Qureshi & Gilbert, 2018). Individuals in developing countries and low income countries face a higher risk of visual impairment or blindness. Due to not enough resources in the health care system and the rise in the chronic illness like hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
A diabetic patient can risk h/her eye sight not only diabetes but global warming can also impact the eye sight of individuals through pollution, the highly dangerous ultra violet rays and migration (McDonald & Taylor, 2014a). These can create cataracts, eye infections and lowers the easy access of health care system. The visual impairment and blindness can be avoided easily through collecting data of people going through visual impairment or avoidable blindness. Through proper information the organizations can target the developing countries with appropriate solutions. A major chunk of the vision impaired individuals can be treated through simple surgical techniques and the availability of glasses for the impaired. This can be done through the cooperation of the government and the private sector; the private sector should invest in the health care system of the developing countries so that the people can get better treatment (McDonald & Taylor, 2014a). A simple cataract surgery is economical and not that expensive. For those who are unable to afford it, the government should allocate a percentage in the country’s budget to operate on the lower middle class or lower class visually impaired individuals. There should be a good amount of investment from the private sector, upper middle class and the elite class in the health care sector especially concerning the eye care services. This investment can help those who cannot afford to operate their cataract disease, cannot afford to buy reading glasses or any other eye issue. Moreover, this investment can help in developing the health care system in terms of new surgical instruments, the hiring of the capable doctors to operate the citizens and new machinery to detect the visual illness. According to McDonald & Taylor (2014b) the World Health Organization’s Global Health Plan 2014-2019 can be successful in a low income country, Cambodia. This country can reduce a good amount of preventable blindness in a short time duration. Previously, the cataract blindness in the country accounted of eight thousand Cambodians with the yearly occurrence rate about nineteen thousand and five hundred individuals. It can accomplish a twenty-five percent reduction in the cataract preventable blindness through hiring of doctors, investments in the health care system to facilitate the people who cannot afford surgeries and through managing the information system.
Eye blindness in the world is a common issue today that can seriously impact the productivity and the performance of the country. Those who can be treated from visual impairment or avoidable blindness can participate in the economy and contribute in the GDP of the country. The low income countries and the developing countries need its citizens to develop itself and it can be done through following the plan given by the governments and the World Health organization. The countries can encourage the important stakeholders, the NGOs and the private sector to work together in eliminating the disease. The NGOs can raise awareness of the disease and how the visually impaired can benefit from the treatment. The private sector can invest in the health care system to help the poor in affording the surgeries, hiring competent doctors and buying good surgical instruments to help the medical professionals. The World Health Organization is doing its best to overcome the Universal Eye Health issue but the low income countries are finding it difficult to reduce the visually impaired individuals and they can prevent it through the discussed recommendations.
References:
Blanchet, K., Gilbert, C., & de Savigny, D. (2014). Rethinking eye health systems to achieve universal coverage: the role of research. British journal of ophthalmology, 98(10), 1325-1328.
McDonald, L., & Taylor, K. (2014a). Achievable, Affordable and Attributable”: The rationale for a focus on reducing avoidable blindness. Technical Consultation on Models of Innovative Financing for Eye Health.
McDonald, L., & Taylor, K. (2014b). Reducing avoidable blindness: A challenge with two parts and its implications for resource allocation. Technical Consultation on Models of Innovative Financing for Eye Health.
Ramke, J., Zwi, A. B., Silva, J. C., Mwangi, N., Rono, H., Gichangi, M., … & Gilbert, C. E. (2018). Evidence for national universal eye health plans. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 96(10), 695.
WHO, (2013). Universal Eye Health: A Global Action Plan 2014-2019. Report, World Health Organization, Reviewed on 10 April <https://www.who.int/blindness/AP2014_19_English.pdf>
WHO, (2019). World report on vision, Report, World Health Organization, Reviewed on 10 April 2020 https://www.who.int/publications-detail/world-report-on-vision
