Eye hospital meant for children soon

Madhyapur Thimi, July 3: With a view to treating visually impaired children, the BP Eye Foundation (BPEF) has begun the construction of the National Children's Eye Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre.Once the centre comes into operation, it would be the first hospital and rehabilitation centre in the country to provide specialised ... and support to children suffering from both curable and incurable blindness. The hospital is being built in Manohara, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality.BPEF president Dr Madan Prasad Upadhyay said the hospital would give specialised care and support to visually impaired children below the age of 16 years and rehabilitate them."The rehabilitation centre would be like a pre-school for the children having incurable blindness," he said. "We want to develop the hospital as a model for both medical and educational rehabilitation of visually-impaired children.It is estimated that around 32,000 children are visually impaired in Nepal with 40 per cent living with curable blindness, according to Upadhyay.More than 300 visually impaired children are gaining education in several schools in different places, according to a BPEF survey.Similarly, over 900 children are estimated to have been suffering from low vision problems. Malnutrition, cataract, glaucoma and retinopathy prematurity are the major causes of blindness, Upadhyay said.BPEF programme officer Rajendra Lamsal said the construction of the hospital is estimated to cost Rs 220 million and the government would bear the costs of construction. However, the BPEF itself would make arrangements for essential equipment, Lamsal said.“If the construction of the hospital goes on smoothly, we hope to start the service from October 2010”, he said.According to the World Health Organisation, Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in over half of the area in all countries, especially in Africa and South East Asia, hitting hard the young children and pregnant women living with low income.

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