Around 45,000 of the 1.4 million blind people in Pakistan are children aged under-15. Many more children suffer from ‘low vision’, which means a significant vision defect even with glasses. Others suffer because they do not have spectacles or the underlying error that prevents them from seeing properly has not been diagnosed. About 10,000 of the children who are blind suffer from cataracts. Simple surgery would give them the incomparable gift of sight. But with only around 4,000 such surgeries taking place annually on children the burden of blindness continues to grow. We have a number of charities engaged in wonderful work to combat blindness. Some now have clinics or hospitals in dozens of cities. Eye specialists from within the country and beyond it contribute to their efforts. But there is clearly even more to be done.
The awareness about blindness and the toll it takes on families needs to be built so that more can be done to bring light back to lives or prevent it from going out in the first place. Children who are blind and others who suffer defects in sight need to be assessed so that those who could benefit from surgery or other treatment can be identified. There is also a need for greater effort to ensure that children who suffer from blindness or low vision are not excluded from education. At present the majority of the disabled remain outside classrooms. For those with moderate vision, the government has supported suggestions that schemes be put in place to enrol them in mainstream schools. These children will after all be leading lives alongside sighted people. They need to learn to manage and develop the ability to earn. They must be able to live independently and survive as productive members of society, rather than remaining dependent into adulthood on families that are often impoverished and who struggle to support them.
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