Vision and cataract screening camp at Brainware University: An initiative towards community health by AHS department

"I came across this banner that Brainware University is conducting an eye camp. I was facing problems with my eyes and needed a checkup so I walked in," said one of the patients who visited the 'Vision and Cataract Screening Camp' organised by the Department of Allied Health Sciences in collaboration with Sankara Jyoti Eye Institute on January 7, 2023. The camp was organised as a part of 'Students' Week 2023'.

Cataract screening camp: Significance and importance in a developing country
One of the major challenges in the developing world is blindness, especially cataract related blindness. India, as one of the biggest developing countries, has a large number of blind requiring sight-restoring cataract surgery. There is a backlog of over 22 million blind eyes (12 million blind people) in India, and 80.1% of these are blind due to cataracts, as per a WHO/NPCB (National Programme for Control of Blindness) survey.

Vision and cataract screening camp at BWU: Services offered
Sayani Pal Choudhury, Assistant Professor, Department of Allied Health Sciences and Coordinator of the Cataract Screening Camp said, "We are offering various services like cataract screening for underprivileged people. We are also providing spectacles at a subsidised rate. In case anyone needs cataract surgery, we are also recommending that which the patients will get at a subsidised rate from Sankara Jyoti Eye Institute."

As per several media reports, financial barriers continue to be a major reason for not taking up offered cataract surgery services in India. This initiative by Brainware University is certainly going to be beneficial for the underprivileged people from the neighbouring areas. "They are offering spectacles at a very low rate or else I would not have been able to afford the spectacle," said one of the patients.

Objective of Brainware University: Community healthcare
The community where we live is also a part of who we are! Community health is a medical specialty that focuses on the physical and mental well-being of people in a specific geographical area. Since its inception, Brainware University has focused on community healthcare and organises frequent health camps for the welfare of the neighbouring people.