Punjab Minister for Population Welfare, Neelam Jabbar has said that the government is providing funds to public sector eye hospitals for complete elimination of blindness from the country by 2020. While talking to media persons on the eve of World Glaucoma Day, Jabbar said that Punjab Eye Bank would also be established to make proper arrangements for the storage of cornea and its provision to the eye patients.
She asked the members of NGOs to create awareness among people about eye donation to deserving blind people. The minister said that about 90 percent of the world's blind live in the developing countries. However, there is hope given the fact that 80 percent of the blindness is either preventable or curable. The blindness due to cataract, trachoma, corneal blindness, low vision and refractive errors could be cured through preventive measures and treatment.
She said that NGOs from Australia and UK had launched projects in Lahore to provide state-of-the-art ophthalmologic facilities to the people of Pakistan, who live in far-flung areas.