The AP Right to Sight Society in collaboration with L V Prasad Eye Institute and Jawahar Bal Bhavan celebrated World Sight Day on October 8 and 9, 2003. The Society had organised a programme on the eve of 'World Sight Day' at Hyderabad. Vision 2020 is a joint program of WHO and IAPB and Civil Society to eliminate preventable and treatable blindness with existing technology and knowledge. It is being carried out with an aim- 'High Quality, Comprehensive Eye Care available to all'. The main components of this program include effective disease control, human resource development and infrastructure development.
Speaking on the occasion Andhra Pradesh Minister for Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Dr. Kodela Sivaprasada Rao expressed that AP Right to Sight Society is the first of its kind in the country. People should come forward to donate eyes as it gives new life to the blind. Corneal transplantation should be encouraged to eradicate the problem to an extent. The state government is planning to make LVPEI and Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital at Hyderabad as centres for excellence, and set up eye care centres in major towns of the state.
Dr.P. Srinivasa Reddy, Joint Project Director of AP Right to Sight Society revealed that the Society will set up centres of excellence, training centres, service centres and vision centres in the State. In the first phase of its Vision 2020 program, focus would be given to diseases such as cataract, refractive errors and corneal blindness.
Dr.M. Subrahmanyam of Sarojini Devi Hospital expressed that cataract cases have dropped in the last 15 years from 80% to 46% of overall eye diseases. He adviced that financially assisted eye care units can be given on lease to ophthalmologists to work in areas especially where there is lack of proper infrastructure for eye care.