KalingaTV News Network
Bhubaneswar: In a first of its kind initiative in the country, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a Universal Eye Health programme here on Thursday aiming to minimise the number of curable visually challenged persons in Odisha.
The State government has decided to spend over Rs 600 crores from its own sources on this programme over the next five years.
“Odisha is the first State in the country to have formulated a Universal Eye Health Programme with an expenditure pegged at Rs 600 crore, which will be borne by the State in the next five years. This initiative will go a long way in controlling curable blindness”, the Chief Minister told the media after launching the programme on the occasion of World Sight Day-2017 here.
“Vision centres equipped with appropriate eye-care facilities will be established across the state initially at all community health centres and later on at primary health centres or even sub-centre level to cover the entire population,” the Chief Minister added.
Under the programme, all school students will be screened for refractory error and other eye problems and spectacles suppled free of cost in the school itself wherever necessary. Besides, all people suffering from defective near vision will also be supplied free spectacles.
The Chief Minister also launched a health web portal through which people with eye problems can register themselves and get details about the programme.
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