A Tyrst with the Premier of Largest Democracy

The third meeting of the National Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities - India (N.C.R.P.D. - India) was held in New Delhi on July 24 and 25, 2009. This National Committee was formed by N.C.P.E.D.P. in September 2008 and meets twice a year. The aim was to bring together disability activists from across the country and across disabilities and lobby for the rights of disabled people at the national level. This year NCRPD has identified five core areas have been identified. These are health, employment, access, communication and information technology and rural development for mainstreaming disability.

You will be glad to know that among the who's who of this national committee*, amcha (in marathi, our very own) Ketan is a member. While Ketan is glad because he has a special moment to share with all of us...let's hear that in his witty ways!


Well before you enjoy this, here is key to get yourself updated with the news on disability : DNIS (Disability News and Information Service).


What is DNIS?
Its a fortnightly news service on the Indian disability sector and a part of NCPEDP's Disability Awareness Unit (DAU). It is supported by European Community and De Samvirkende Invalide-organisationer (DSI), Denmark. DNIS invite writers from all over India to write for them. If there is any news around your area that is relevant to disability, or if you would like to profile a person with disability in your area, they would love to hear from you. Visit at http://www.dnis.org/

Over to Ketan !!!

The Saturday 25 July was a hot, rainless day in Delhi and me with my couple of friends were involved in animated discussions about various issues relating to the rights of the disabled. The lunch time was an occasion to socialize and we were just about to finish the Chinese cuisine when I was asked about my flight timings and I told with irritation that my flight was late in the evening and expressed my disappointment that I did not book an earlier flight.

Little did I know that the so-called mistake of mine would result in one of the most memorable moments of my life. A few minutes later, Mr. Javed Abidi** told us in a most normal tone that we should be ready by 4 PM as we were to meet the Prime Minister. I am generally very cynical and am not much excited by such meetings but Prime Minister was something else. From last so many years, we had heard about his formidable CV and his commitment so one did look forward to meeting him.

We drove to 7 Race Course Road, but as it happens with me... my name was written wrongly and I was prevented from entering the premises. It was a lot of struggle and exchange of calls that I was allowed to enter. Initially, I had half a mind of conveying to my friends in Mumbai that we were to meet the Prime Minister but then I thought that one should wait as anything could happen and the whole plan could collapse. And when this issue of mistaken identity occurred, I almost felt that the whole excitement was wasted. But somehow it was resolved and I entered the huge premises. The walkway inside was accessible with ramps and we could hear a lot of chirping of birds especially the peacocks.

After some 100 metres of walking, we entered the meeting room and once we all were seated the Prime Minister entered; shaking everyone by the hand. He spoke so softly that it was a test of hearing capacity to decipher what he was saying. The conversation lasted for about 15 minutes. We appraised him of our expectations of the Government and he sounded quite aware of most of the issues. He said that disability matters were close to his heart and it gave immense satisfaction to him if he could help this community. I made it a point to thank him and the Government for making the elections accessible.

At the end of the meeting I requested for a group photo (I was surprised myself as I am not a photoloving person). He kindly obliged and the meeting concluded with a word of guarded promise from him. The day was inscribed on my mind forever and I will cherish the memory of meeting one of the greatest men who transformed the economy of India and gave us a lot to cheer about.

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* The members of the Committee are Javed Abidi, A.S. Narayanan, Arun Rao, Asha Mehra, Akhil Paul, C. Mahesh, J.P. Gadkari, Kanchan Pamnani, Ketan Kothari, M. Srinivasulu, Muthamma B. Devaya, Nilesh Singit, P.K. Pincha, Poonam Natarajan, Radhika M. Alkazi, Rajiv Rajan, Rama Chari, Shampa Sengupta, Shanti Auluck, Shilpi Kapoor, Shivani Gupta, Suhas Karnik, Sunil Kumar Singh, Vandana Bedi and Victor John Cordeiro.

**Mr Javed Abidi is Honorary Director of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.)

Public Private Partnership in Bihar : A Service Delivery Model

By Suvendu Kumar Mitra (smitra@sightsavers.org)

Programme Officer - North East Area Officer

The Public-Private-Partnership Project for eye care service delivery has finally taken off in Bihar through joint effort of Sightsavers and its partner Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Centre. After a series of advocacy meetings with the Government of Bihar and a constant support from the NPCB (GoI), the MoU for the Public Private Partnership project in the Kishanganj district was signed in Kishanganj, Bihar. Recently, during the VISION 2020 Annual General Meeting, this initiative was discussed and appreciated for pooling resources from governement as well as private facilities.


PARTNERS


The programme is delivering curative eye care services through the Kishanganj District Hospital, using the existing government eye care infrastructure and complementing the system with the support of Sightsavers and its Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Centre, Kolkatta.

SITUATION

The district hospital of Kishanganj was not having a functional Ophthalmology wing for the last four years and thereby, could not perform any cataract surgery. This apparatus lying futile in this facility was directly influecing the CSR of the district.

Pic 1: From Sightsavers, Ms Elizabeth Kurian (Regional Director), Mr Prasannakumar (Area Director), Mr Sudipto Mohanty (Programme Manager) and myself attended the Vision 2020 AGM at Patna on 16th - 17th July, 2009

Pic 2: Kishanganj is located in the northeast of Bihar surrounded by West Bengal, Bangladesh and Nepal.

PROCESS : Our Intervention

To start with, patients from two administrative blocks namely Kochadhaman and Bahadurganj of Kishanganj district were screened in Outreach Camps organized by the Susrut’s Outreach Team in April 2009. The patients were brought to Kishanganj District Hospital and the Cataract IOL surgery was done by Ophthalmologists from Susrut. In the first Outreach Camp 120 patients turned up and 83 patients were provided with cataract surgical services at the hospital. Till date 595 surgeries have been performed in the hospital.

OUTCOME

The programme is a breakthrough in the history of Kishanganj district where getting cataract surgical services through the government hospitals was a distant dream. The cataract surgery figures for the year 2008-09 is the highest ever achieved in the Kishanganj District hospital since the formation of the district in 1990. The eye OPD managed by the PMOA of the Kishanganj District Hospital has witnessed 10 times surge in the number of patients in June 2009 compared to that in the month of March 2009. This shows the tremendous impact of the services and the huge unmet eye care need of the district of Kishanganj.

IMPACT

As a result the district of Kishanganj has ranked second in Bihar only after Patna in the number of surgery performed per lakh population in 38 districts of Bihar in the month of June 2009.
This initiative is a sincere attempt to bridge the demand & supply gap of cataract surgical services with an aim to achieve VISION 2020 objectives.

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Send in your articles and feedback to Shweta Chooramani (schooramani@sightsavers.org)

GoAP and Sightsavers State Level Training for 350 PMOOs Launched

20th July, 2009

"Modern trends in Delivery of Eyecare" was the topic chosen by GoAP and Sightsavers International to orient 350 Paramedic Ophthalmic Officers (PMOO) spread across 23 districts of the state at Sankar Foundation, Vishakhapatnam.

It was the first time that training for paramedic ophthalmic officers was organized comprehensively on the newly launched programmes like Aarogyashree, 104 Mobile Van (also called as HMRI's Fixed Day Health Scheme) and teleophthalmology. Since, the PMOO (new terminology for Paramedic Ophthalmic Assistants) has been recognized as the referral link in all these innovative programmes launched by government, it was imperative to host this training.



While Dr Mothilal, Joint Director- AP NPCB volunteered to take session on "How to make cataract free zone", resource persons were called in from district or regional level officials from Aarogyashree scheme, HMRI and Regional Eye Hosptial (for teleophthalmology) respectively. The training also included practical demonstration of 104 mobile fan, interaction with Aarogyamitra (person appointed at base hospital by Govt.) and their role.

To cover the entire state, districts have been divided into three phases:

Phase 1: Districts (10)
July 20th – 21st : Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam, Vizianagaram
July 23rd -24th : East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna
July 27th – 28th : Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittor

Phase 2: Districts (6)
August 17th – 18th : Cuddapah, Ananthpur, Kurnool
August 20th – 21st : Mehboobnagar, Nalgonda, Khammam

Phase 3: Districts (6)
September 7th – 8th : Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nizamabad
September 10th- 11th: Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal

* Hyderabad was not included.

This is the third time, when Sightsavers has organized a joint state level training (technically as well as financially) in Andhra Pradesh after conducting DPM training for two consecutive years.
After approval from Dr L V Subhramanyam (Prinicipal Health Secretary) we foresee more such training programmes for ophthalmic personnels across all cadres in partnership with the government.





*Click on the photo for large view.


With all this effort, a message has been clearly sent to the key decision makers of the state that inclusion of eyecare is a step towards achieveing primary healthcare for the bottom of the pyramid.

Let's not get blurred by the launch of technology ignoring the immensely able human resource as ultimately it will be a human who will be treated by a human.

By
Shweta Chooramani
schooramani@sightsavers.org


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Give voice to your thoughts, Have samvaad with us !

Inauguration of Ankh Wali Pum Pum (Mobile Vision Center for Gondiya district)

By Rajesh Kapse

Sightsavers International has launched its first project of Vidharbha Network on 16th June 2009 with Mahatme Eye Bank Eye Hospital, Impact India Foundation and Volkart foundation. This project will be for the Gondiya district of Vidharbha region.

Impact India foundation and Volkart Foundation has given this van to Mahatme Eye Bank Eye Hospital through Sightsavers International for the implementation of the comprehensive eye care programme for Gondia district. A tele ophthalmology unit will be established in this van so as to provide expert diagnosis to the rural poor patients of Gondia district by ophthalmologist. An optical dispensing unit will also be added to this van and spectacles will be provided on the spot. Netra Doots (eye health volunteers) will be trained from the local population and awareness will be generated on the eye care issues. Activities for rehabilitation of the irreversibly blind and low vision people will be implemented as a part of Vidarbha Network for the comprehensive eye care services. This will be of great help to the poor and needy people of Vidarbha region.

The Life Line Express Mobile Van Clinic ( LLEMVC) has been handed over to Dr. Mahatme (Medical Director, Mahatme Eye Bank Eye Hospital) on this day. Mr. Pravin Darade (District Collector, Nagpur), Mr. Vilas Muttemwar (Member of Parliament, Nagpur), Ms. Zelma Lazarus (CEO Impact India Foundation), Mr. Shreenath (CEO Volkart Foundation), Mr. Vikas Thakre (Ex Mayor Nagpur) and myself were present on this occasion.

There was a live demonstration of cataract surgery during the inauguration programme and the operated patient inaugurated the van. Dr. Mrs. Sunita Mahatme was the master of the ceremony.

The event was widely covered in the media with exclusive footage in leading english newspaper "Hitavada". The excerpts are as follows:

‘Vision for Vid - a boon for visually challenged’ Jun. 18th, 2009 by Nandu Andhare
Sightsavers International is an non-political, secular, non-governmental development organisation which specialises in the provision of technical and financial support for the ‘prevention and cure of blindness.’ It also specialises in the provision of services such as education and rehabilitation for the incurably blind, is on a god sent mission in Vidarbha.

According to Dr Rajesh Kapse, Programme Officer of Sightsavers International, the organisation believes in delivery of services through local partners. It has underpinned the organisations activities for more than 50 years and learn from them, while assisting them in building their capacity for sustainability of service in the long term Comprehensive Eye Services (CES) is its core delivery model to provide a network of services covering all aspects of eye care, from the promotion of eye health, the prevention of blindness and the provision of clinical services, through to education and rehabilitation for persons with irreversible visual impairment.’’

Dr Rajesh says, “Sightsavers has started its programmes by working on some priority issues like human resource development, providing primary eye care services like refraction, cataract surgeries, treatment for glaucoma and work for rehabilitation of the blind and low vision people. The need of timely maintenance of ophthalmic equipments was also felt The organisation has started training programme for the ophthalmic surgeons and ophthalmic officers working with Government in 11 district of Vidarbha. This training programme has been launched in collaboration with Maharashtra State Health Society under National programme for control of blindness. 210 ophthalmic officers and 50 ophthalmic surgeons will participate in this programme.

Training of the first batch of 30 ophthalmic officers was organised on June 11 and 12, and training of other 6 batches of ophthalmic officers will be done in the month of June and July 2009. The training programme of ophthalmic surgeons was organised on June 16 and 17 on Best Practices in Cataract Management. Four ophthalmic officers from Vidarbha will be provided with the training in Equipment maintenance. This trained man power will help in solving the equipment maintenance issues to increase surgical performance. The first comprehensive eye care programme has been launched in collaboration with Mahatme Eye Bank Eye Hospital, Impact India Foundation and Volkart foundation.

Impact India Foundation has introduced an innovative idea of combating disabilities through its Lifeline Express Mobile Clinic (LLEMC), a concept of mobile health care. The LLEMC is designed as an autonomous diagnostic mobile clinic fitted with the latest equipment for identifying hearing and vision impairments, with the goal of making maximum use of the available space and creating a user friendly layout. The LLEMC is equipped with Vision Drum, Auto-Refractometer, Slit Lamp, Lensometer, Trial set of lenses, Retinoscope, Ophthalmoscope, Tonometer, Audiometer. The LLEMC with its equipment is being used to screen and examine identified patients for External inflammation, infection, injury or asymmetry in vision, Pupilary function, Ocular motility, Visual acuity, Visual field testing, Patient’s hearing level, Ability to differentiate between sound intensities, Recognize pitch, Distinguish speech from background noise.

Impact India foundation and Volkart Foundation has given this Van to Mahatme Eye Bank Eye Hospital through Sightsavers International for the implementation of the comprehensive eye care programme for the Gondia district. A tele ophthalmology unit will be established in this van so as to provide expert diagnosis to the rural poor patients of Gondia district by ophthalmologist. An optical dispensing unit will also be added to this van and spectacles will be provided on the spot. Netra Doots (eye health volunteers) will be trained from the local population and awareness will be generated on the eye care issues. Activities for rehabilitation of the irreversibly blind and low vision people will be implemented as a part of Vidarbha Network for the comprehensive eye care services. This will be of great help to the poor and needy people of Vidarbha region.”