DOH to look into visual health as WHO reports growing number of people afflicted by eye problems

By Analou De Vera Health experts sounded the alarm on the growing number of people who are suffering from visual impairment. "The world report says that there are about 2.2 billion people in the world that have a vision impairment--that includes people that are blind but most of them are not blind but they have poor vision," said World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Advisor Dr. Andreas Mueller during the launch of the World Report on Vision recently. Mueller said that half of the said figure could have been treated or that their "vision loss could have been prevented." "If we treat people, if we find them early enough and be treated appropriately, you can stop people from going blind in most cases," he said. The World Report on Vision said that vision impairment occurs "when an eye condition affects the visual system and one or more of its vision functions." Some of the eye conditions that can cause vision impairment include cataract, trachoma, and refractive error, among others. Citing the 2018 Philippine National Blindness Survey and Disease Study, vision impairment and blindness were among the major concerns in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said. " 1.11 million Filipinos with cataract, 400,000 with uncorrected error of refraction, almost 300,000 with glaucoma, and 200,000 with maculopathy. Additionally, there are over four million Filipinos living with undiagnosed eye problems that need to be addressed," the DOH noted. Mueller said that most people that have vision problems were older people. "Sometimes vision problems can be an issue in school but it's mainly the elderly people that develop cataracts or they need reading glasses, and there are other problems that cause vision loss," he said. "The World Report makes a statement that every person at some stage in their life will have an eye condition," he furthered. Eyeglasses a ‘luxury item’ Mueller said that some optical services are usually outside the health system. "It is a business and private--- and the services are usually not available in a government facility or government hospitals. This is how it works in most countries," he said. "But the problem with that is often glasses are expensive. Poor people in lower income countries--- cost is a major barrier to access spectacle because they cannot afford to go to the high street and buy these glasses," he added. Mueller encouraged optometrists or opticians to "become part of the health system." "They can operate and they can work in government facilities and then hopefully there are some sort of control to keep the cost of spectacles at a lower level to make sure it is affordable for everybody," said the WHO official. "We are highlighting the fact that spectacles are a health issue and it needs to be treated by the health system rather than completely outsourced as a business luxury item," he emphasized. PhilHealth eyeglass package Meanwhile, the DOH is now working with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to make an eyeglass package for its members for availment. "Meron tayong winowork-out PhilHealth na sana po yung eyeglasses maging part ng service packages...Hopefully ma provide ng PhilHealth yung eyeglass services," said Dr. Ma. Rosario Sylvia Uy, DOH-program manager on Prevention of Blindness Program. The DOH expressed its commitment to address the problem on visual impairment in the country. "In line with the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, the Department of Health is gearing toward providing comprehensive eye care services, integrating eye care within local health systems, and responding to emerging eye diseases," it said.