Plan to Boost Indian Optometry Endorsed

A recent groundbreaking decision by a delegation of Indian and international optometry representatives has led to firm support for the development of eye care services throughout India.

The New Delhi meeting concluded with the signing of a Delhi Declaration which heralds a significant step towards the sustainable development of optometry in the country.

The delegation met to discuss the development of blindness prevention and to agree on a pathway for the further development of optometry as an independent profession and to substantially upgrade and increase optometric human resources.

An estimated 456 million of India’s 1.12 billion people require vision correction. The staggering cost in lost productivity from uncorrected refractive error (the need for an eye examination and pair of glasses) is estimated at $23 billion per annum.

Amongst the delegation was Professor Brien Holden, CEO of the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) and the Brien Holden Vision Institute. Professor Holden commented, “The reality is that to provide the necessary vision care to the population, India needs 115 000 optometrists. But the fact remains that currently the country has approximately 9000 (4-year trained optometrists) and 40 000 (2-year trained) eye care personnel.”

Professor Holden added that the successful development of optometry in India would make a major and very public contribution to the health and welfare of the people of the country.

“If it is to further develop into a regulated profession in India, it is estimated that the country will need at least 100 schools of optometry over the next few decades to meet the demand for fully qualified optometrists,” said Professor Holden.

He went on to say, “Ensuring that quality education is delivered in all these undergraduate programmes would require the development of a minimum of 1000 optometric educators who are capable of facing the challenges ahead to help produce around 5000 optometry graduates per year.”

A staunch advocate for quality education, Professor Holden added, “Australia can assist in this process by sharing lessons learned from the academic, professional and legislative pathway that we have followed over the last 80 years to become an effective health care profession. Optometry in Australia is now a very well defined profession and makes a significant contribution to the country’s welfare”.

The Delhi Declaration was endorsed by the Indian Optometric Association, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), World Council of Optometry, LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Brien Holden Vision Institute and ICEE.

Whilst in India, Professor Holden joined an Indian-Australian delegation to discuss possibilities of establishing a tertiary eye care centre in Uttarakhand. Dr Nag Rao, Chairman and CEO of LVPEI and Vinod Daniel, Chairman of AusHeritage, met with Professor Holden, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal, the Chief Minister and Minister for Health for Uttarakhand, and senior government representatives to explore options for establishing the centre. The group further discussed how the centre would act as a training facility and a referral node for all patients requiring advanced eye care.

Dr Rao said that by adopting the successful LVPEI eye care pyramid model, a blueprint for comprehensive eye care coverage to all communities, the centre will train optometrists, ophthalmologists and support staff to be employed in the centre and in vision centres to be established in the surrounding rural areas.

He added, “Once established, the centre will make available quality eye care services for people in the state of Uttarakhand, both in the capital Dehradun and in neighbouring districts. The provision of district vision centres will also provide employment and education in the field of eye care to the young rural population of the state”.

The initiative was supported by the Australia-India Council.

Click here to download the Delhi Declaration