Role of Non-Governmental Organization in Prevention and Treatment of Blindness: Experiences from Bangladesh

Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman

Purpose: This paper intends to share implementation lessons from "Bangladesh National Society for Blind (BNSB)" a non-profit voluntary organization serving the poor urban community- mostly slum, garment workers in prevention and cure of blindness since 1973. Community-based programme of BNSB also support rehabilitation and training for the blind. Most patients are from urban-slum and poor community to whom organization provide free of cost or subsidy for surgery, medicine and spectacles.

Background information: Avoidable blindness is one of the major public health problems in Bangladesh. According to National Blindness survey, presently around one million people aged 30 and above are blind, and about 40,000 children are blind and about five million people, including children suffer from refractive errors. In Dhaka city, majority of the ophthalmic services historically being provided by NGOs and Private sectors, BNSB is one of them. Corneal ulcer by fungus infection during harvesting season due to trauma by paddy grains treatment and prevention with special care reduces chance of blindness.

Results: Last five years, besides BNSB Hospital's routine in- outpatients service, it served 433 primary schools and periodic eye sight testing among adolescent garment workers and identified 1,779,502 students and workers refractive errors; distributed Vitamin A capsules to combat main cause of blindness, and treated a large amount of urban slum population. Small scale cost recovery services including technical and logistical support from Government make theses possible.

Conclusion: Bangladesh government is making efforts to improve facilities, but the magnitude of health problems including blindness are so huge, it needs a commendable and implementable health policy to achieve the targets of millennium development goals by 2015 and Vision 2020.