Addressing the Problem of Blindness in India

The inspiration to create Relief Riders International’s cataract eye surgery program came from our team’s field experiences at general medical camps in Rajasthan, India. Our subsequent research into the problem of global blindness has only led us to increase our efforts to provide services to people suffering from the all-too-preventable problem of blindness in rural India.

This page provides basic information on the nature of eye problems in India and a brief description of the kind of cataract treatment our team provides.

Blindness and Cataracts in India

The World Health Organization estimates that cataracts account for over half of all avoidable blindness in Africa and Asia.  Of these regions, India bears the greatest burden, where the ratio of blindness to population is highest – there are approximately 15 million blind people in a total population of 1.8 billion people. And while some improvements in rural health have improved life expectancies, it has also aggravated the problem of cataracts, with a proportional increase in the backlog of cataract patients waiting to be treated.

Although cataracts can be easily removed, surgical services in many developing countries are inadequate, inaccessible and too expensive for most of their rural population. In India, where it has been estimated that nine-tenths of the population live in small and scattered villages far removed from the conveniences of civilized life, getting treatment for cataracts can be especially difficult.

Relief Riders International’s Approach

As an administratively lean, entrepreneurial organization with a social mission, Relief Riders International has been able to implement programs with a minimum of bureaucracy and at low cost. We establish temporary eye surgery clinics in the villages we visit. Our medical team, led by Dr. V.K. Gupta, has transformed rural Public Health Centers (PHC) and Dharmshala into temporary eye surgery clinics and post-operative recuperation facilities.

Meeting the Challenge with Mobile Eye Clinics

Because our clinics are mobile, we are able to provide our services in very remote places and still keep overhead expenses at a minimum. Once the date for the eye surgery camp has been established, our team publicizes the camp to villagers through banners, pamphlets and word of mouth.

Villagers with eye problems are encouraged to come out and be screened to receive cataract surgery. Because of the high risk for infection in surgery of this type, government regulations require potential patients to pass three tests gauging their blood pressure, presence of diabetes, and albumen levels – before being admitted for surgery. Villagers eligible for surgery are then treated at the camp and attended by nurses the day following their surgery.

Cataract Eye Surgery Overview

A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. The lens is a clear part of the eye that helps to focus light, or an image, on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. In a normal eye, light passes through the transparent lens to the retina. Once it reaches the retina, light is changed into nerve signals that are sent to the brain.

The lens must be clear for the retina to receive a sharp image. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image a person sees will be blurred. In cataract surgery, the eye’s clouded lens is removed, and the eye is implanted with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL).