Bausch + Lomb India in association with the Optometry Council of India launched the Eye Screening Protocol for Government school children as a part of Bausch + Lomb’s CSR programme, Experience Vision.
The launch held on March 23rd, coincided with World Optometry Day, which is celebrated globally to create awareness about optometry as a profession.
With approximately 30% of India’s population being children, uncorrected refractive errors and childhood blindness are known to be among the leading causes of vision impairment. Experience Vision aims to increase eye care awareness among the school going children and educate them regarding refractive errors and common eye ailments. As an extension to the programme, the Eye Screening Protocol is designed to detect and diagnose such eye conditions in children.
Sanjay Bhutani, Managing Director Bausch + Lomb India Pvt Ltd. said, “We believe the eye screening protocol has the potential to become the Gold standard in India for eye screening in children and community in time to come. We suggest all optometrists to take active part in public health by utilizing these tools developed to enhance eye care delivery in India and work to improve eye care at community level to help make an India which can see better to live better.”
Lakshmi Shinde, CEO, Optometry Council of India said, “We are proud to launch the school screening protocol developed as part of the Experience Vision programme which is a CSR project of Bausch & Lomb India. Optometry Council of India (OCI) formulated a core committee of experts to arrive at this eye screening protocol. This protocol suits the demands of minimal usage of dilatation drops where necessary, laid emphasis on binocular vision, colour vision and diagnosis of the condition at screening site. This screening protocol will be executed in this year to screen 15,000 students across the country. As the Vision of OCI is to provide excellence in optometric education and equitable eye care services, this protocol will live up to that vision.”
