Screenings, songs and strategies
Music, eye screenings and round table debates were the order of the day during this year’s World Sight Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Dhaka Urban Eye Care Project team organised events which touched thousands of people across the city.
The streets of Dhaka came alive with song on the 8 October with a troupe of singers performing folk songs in locations around the city. The revelry had a serious message, as the songs incorporated eye care messages to help raise awareness of eye care issues.
A ‘mega eye camp’ held especially for women and children at one of the city’s schools on 9 October saw a staggering 1,130 people screened, with 193 cataract patients identified and a further 193 who were given free refractive service on the day.
Later in the week the Daily Star, Bangladesh’s most popular English language newspaper, organised a round table debate with eye care experts. Moderated by Sightsavers’ Dr Wahidul Islam, the group discussed strategy for clearing the backlog of cataract blindness which has developed in Bangladesh. You can read the Daily Star's full report here.
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