National summit on ROP held in Dhaka

A national summit on Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) has been organised in Dhaka by the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh in collaboration with the Interactive Research and Development, Bangladesh with support from the United States Agency for International Development recently, says a press release. 

Prof Dr Mohammod Shahidullah, President, Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council and Chairman, Department of Neonatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University; and Prof Clare Gilbert, Professor and Researcher of International Eye Care, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK presented in the summit as key speakers. Prof Gilbert mentioned ROP as one of the major causes of childhood blindness globally and in Asia, including Bangladesh and highlighted the importance of timely screening and treatment to prevent avoidable blindness due to ROP. 

The key recommendation in the summit was the need for creating a multi-sectoral coordination platform/mechanism for ROP programming aiming at the prevention of avoidable childhood blindness due to ROP.