Most blindness caused by cataract is preventable

We find ourselves at a loss for words when confronted with the fact that 650,000 out of a total of 750,000 people go blind each year, ought not to have gone blind since their cataract condition was curable. They lost their precious eyesight for want of finance and medical services. These were the subjects of discussion at a roundtable conference held recently where speakers drove home some unsavoury facts about the dismal condition of eye treatment services in the country.
Unpleasant as it may sound, the bulk of Bangladeshi people reside overwhelmingly in the rural areas are bereft of requisite medical facilities that cater to cataract treatment. The treatment of cataract which causes a clouding of the natural lenses in the eye resulting in impaired vision that ultimately leads to blindness. As stated earlier, this condition can be successfully treated through operation. As 90% of the medical specialists and paramedics involved in the treatment of this condition reside, not in the district towns and villages but in the major metropolitan cities, for a patient to receive appropriate and timely treatment, s/he must travel to one of the major cities. Given the nature of disease, the patient must be accompanied by at least one attendant. All this costs money -- money most patients do not have. Given a choice between zero treatment due to lack of finance, the sad reality is that for nearly 9 out 10 patients, it results in blindness.
The time has surely come for those who have been fortunate enough to be successful in life to show compassion for their less than fortunate brethren. Thanks to advances in medical science and the nature of the disease itself, treatment of cataract is not expensive like cancer treatment. And it is not only the wealthy that can make a difference by extending a helping hand. Were financial and corporate institutions like banks and conglomerates to get involved in fundraising, there is little to suggest why 90% of patients who go blind today could not be with sight tomorrow.