Vijayawada: Come October 10, World Sight Day, the state government will launch a massive eye screening drive across the state. A fund of Rs 560.89 crore has already been released for the Dr YSR Kanti Velugu. The amount has already been given to the commissioner of the AP Vaidya Vidhana Parishad and he has been directed to launch the programme across the state.
The ambitious programme will continue for the next three years with a target to achieve the target of no blindness. The programme will start with the eye test of school children across the 13 districts. This would follow secondary screening and distribution of spectacles to the children. The second phase will start on November 1 and continue until December 31.
The third phase will cover the general populace and start on February 1, 2020. The next phase will give out spectacles to people, the government said. This will go on until December 31, 2020. Surgeries for cataract will also be taken up with the support of the government, voluntary organisations and other service organisations.
The state government looks to make Andhra Pradesh free of blindness by January 31, 2022. ASHA workers, teachers, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANMs), village volunteers and staffers of the Vaidya Vidhana Parishad, besides government hospitals, have been asked to assist the people in their respective areas.
