Odisha Chief Minister inaugurates Rural Eye Centre in Rayagada
Rayagada, Aug 31: In its endeavor to provide high-quality, low-cost, self-sustaining permanent eye care, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) opened its 14th rural (secondary) eye centre in Rayagada – the Naraindas & Morbai Budhrani Eye Centre. An integral part of the eye centre in Rayagada is the JK Center for Tribal Eye Health. The Centre was inaugurated by Shri Naveen Patnaik – Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha. This is LVPEI’s second rural eye centre in Odisha, the OCL Eye Centre in Rajgangpur being their first such centre in the state. The Rayagada centre marks the augmentation of LVPEI’s services in the state, which began in 2006 at Bhubaneshwar. The Rayagada Eye Centre is established at a cost of 4 crores and is located at Pitamahal on 2-acres of land obtained from the IDCO, Odisha, at a subsidized cost.
Access to healthcare is a general concern in India, with rural and tribal pockets being the worst affected. Eye care in many parts of India is unavailable, inaccessible and unaffordable to the economically underprivileged, despite the fact that most eye related problems are avoidable and can be prevented, treated or managed. The state of Odisha ranks 15th in eye care services program in India, with very limited access as well as quality eye care facilities in the state. It is the poor who are the worst affected.
The Naraindas & Morbai Budhrani Eye Centre and the JK Centre for Tribal Eye Health in Rayagada is equipped with desired medical equipments and well trained staff to deliver excellent and equitable comprehensive eye care services on a sustainable basis, aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness in the region. Commenting on the partnership between LVPEI and JK Paper Ltd., Mr. H.P. Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JKPL said that JKPL had a multi pronged outreach programme in Rayagada which includes preventive and diagnostic health camps, education, women’s health and livelihood programs, and was now happy to serve the local population with the latest eye care facilities in partnership with LVPEI. He pointed out that the epidemiological survey sponsored by JKPL will bring eye care to the doorstep of beneficiaries. This is done through a fully equipped mobile unit which will cover a population of 75,000 directly in five years.
According to Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder and Chairperson, L V Prasad Eye Institute, “The need of the day is to invest in resource-poor areas for providing quality eye care through skilled human resources. LVPEI’s pyramid model of eye care demonstrates a comprehensive approach. It not only makes access to eye care services possible for the vulnerable and needy communities but also focuses on creating awareness and developing skilled human resources which is essential to sustainably scale up eye care services.” The Rayagada Eye Centre will be a continuum to LVPEI’s vision of providing good quality, permanent and affordable eye care for rural India. This eye care facility will be a part of LVPEI network and provide high quality comprehensive eye care services to all, irrespective of their socio-economic status.
The Rayagada Eye Centre is set up in partnership with Mission for Vision, a philanthropic group in Mumbai. The Centre has a team of trained eye health personnel including ophthalmologists delivering nearly 80% of eye care at the doorstep of the people of Rayagada district and the surrounding region. The services will include all common eye diseases, and with the mobile services the team will reach out to schools and less accessible areas. “Our first in the state of Odisha, this centre is a major milestone for Mission for Vision (MFV) in its mission to enable high quality, comprehensive and equitable eye health care for communities in need. It provides impetus to our efforts in strengthening health systems in Odisha and other parts of India in alignment with our corporate philosophy, Caring Capitalism. This hospital is all the more significant for us as it has been established in collaboration with our long term associate, Naraindas and Morbai Budhrani Trust and also marks the beginning of our partnership with the L V Prasad Eye Institute,” said Elizabeth Kurian, CEO, Mission for Vision.
Naraindas Morbai Budhrani Trust (NMBT) channelizes all its programs and support towards the resource poor communities and individuals with the firm belief that everyone has the responsibility towards directing thoughts, actions, and every possible resource in favor of the resource-poor, if we wish to live in a world with peace and harmony. Along with working for avoidable blindness, NMBT works to promote access to formal education, value education, skill building for the livelihood and education of the visually impaired, support for the destitute and resource poor families, and primary health care in areas where access is limited. Through its people centric program, NMBT has connected and worked in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Rajasthan. The quality infrastructure set up at Naraindas & Morbai Budhrani Eye Center will help to serve one of the most deserving regions of the state and humbly contribute to the development of the people. Talking about their association with NMBT, Dr Taraprasad Das, Vice-Chair – L V Prasad Eye Institute said, “NMBT has been supporting the cause of preventing avoidable blindness much before its inception as an organization in 2002. They have been instrumental in setting up eye care facilities with the focus of initiating quality eye care programs for the underserved. We are happy to be associated with them and look forward to a long term relationship in promoting eye care services.”
Shri Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak – Hon’ble Minister, Health & Family Welfare and Information & Public Relations, Government of Odisha; Shri N Bhaskar Rao – Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board, Government of Odisha; Shri Lalbihari Himirika – Hon’ble Minister, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of Odisha; and Shri Jhina Hikaka – Member of Parliament, Koraput were present on the occasion.
The LVPEI network currently includes a Centre of Excellence at Hyderabad, 3 tertiary centres in Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, 14 secondary and 121 primary care centres that cover the remotest rural areas in the four states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) was established in 1986-87 at Hyderabad as a not-for-profit, non-government, public-spirited, comprehensive eye care institution. LVPEI is governed by two trusts: the Hyderabad Eye Institute and the Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation. The Institute is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness and a Global Resource Center for VISION 2020: The Right to Sight initiative. LVPEI has six active arms to its areas of operations namely Clinical Services, Education, Research, Rehabilitation and Sight Enhancement Services, Eye Bank, and Public Health and Rural Outreach.