Schoolchildren to be screened for eye ailments

Nadira GUNATILEKE

All schoolchildren in the island will be subject to sight screening under the Vision 2020 programme implemented with the assistance of International Sight Savers, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

It is discovered that over 160,000 schoolchildren in Sri Lanka are suffering from eye aliments.

The Minister said although a high quality eye care service available in Sri Lanka free of charge, the public suffer from various eye problems due to negligence and some other reasons such as diabetics, glaucoma and hereditary factors. The Government has made available all required medical care for such illnesses. Earlier there was a dearth of eye surgeons and eye specialists in Sri Lanka but now more doctors are available. Arrangements were made to train a large number of eye technicians with the assistance of the Australian Government, the Minister said.