Sightsavers signs an MoU with Department of Health, Government of Bihar

The State Health Society Bihar (SHSB) and Sightsavers India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCB&VI) in the State of Bihar.

The MoU was signed between Mr RN Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers India and Dr. Harish Chandra Ojha, State Programme Officer (NPCB&VI), State Health Society Bihar, Health Department, Government of Bihar to improve the infrastructure of service delivery in the District Hospital, development and strengthening of Eye OT and cataract surgery services through District Hospital. The collaboration would entail addressing other key eye health problems as well.

The partnership will result in Sightsavers’ providing direct support in strengthening the NPCB&VI programme in the selected fifteen districts of Bihar covering a population of almost 3 crores. In addition to these, Sightsavers will also provide technical support for strengthening the NPCB&VI programme in the State of Bihar. Sightsavers has already been supporting six of these 15 districts including Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Gaya, Munger, Purnea and Samastipur. It was with Sightsavers’ intervention that for the first time the district hospitals in the aforementioned districts successfully carried of cataract surgeries.

Apart from the existing six districts, Sightsavers seeks to increase the cataract surgical rate (CSR) of the districts as part of Rural Eye Health initiative Netra Vasant and Urban Eye Health initiative Amrita Drishti of Sightsavers in the other nine districts including Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Supaul, Sheikhpura, E. Champaran, Arwal, Araria, Nawada and Siwan.

Mr RN Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers India, at the signing said, “SHBS and Sightsavers share a common goal to improve eye health status of rural poor by increasing awareness level of the people. We are happy in building capacity of the health workers, supporting District Hospital and selected CHCs for optimum outputs. This would be possible by making the operation units functional and efficient at District Hospital which will ultimately result in increased number of cataract surgeries and treatment of other eye diseases.”

The key dignitaries present at the MoU signing were Shri Lokesh Kumar Singh, IAS, Executive Director, State Health Society Bihar, Health Department, Government of Bihar, Shri Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Principal Secretary(Health), Department of Health, Government of Bihar, Shri RN Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers India and Shri Sudipta Mohanty, Area Director, East India Office, Sightsavers.