Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed has said that a project to provide state-of-the-art ophthalmologic facilities to the people of far-flung areas has been launched with the financial assistance of international donors. Presiding over a meeting of Punjab Institute of Preventive Ophthalmology (PIPO) here on Wednesday, he said the role of international donor agencies is being strengthened vis-à-vis health sector whereas, effective system of monitoring and evaluation has also been chalked out to curb exploitation of the developmental funds.

Project Director PIPO, Professor Dr Asad Aslam Khan apprised the minister that under the directions of Chief Minister Punjab, the institute has arranged Corneas for poor blind patients and three corneas are being transplanted into the eyes of deserving patients, free of cost, every week.

He stated that total cost of import of corneas is $200/- per cornea. Total cost of import of cornea from Sri Lanka and medicine is Rs 20,000/- per patient, while patients are being operated free of cost at the PIPO/ Mayo Hospital Lahore, he added.

The minister hoped that blindness would be totally wiped out from the country till 2020.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005