Barriers to the Second Eye Cataract Surgery Amongst the Rural Population of Western Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The global initiative known as ‘VISION 2020: the Right to Sight’ is an established partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). It was launched in 1999 with the twin aims of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020 and preventing the projected doubling of avoidable visual impairment between 1990 and 2020. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to integrate a sustainable, comprehensive, high-quality, equitable eye- care system into strengthened national health-care systems. In May 2006, the World Health Assembly adopted Resolution WHA 59.25, ‘Prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment’ (Annex II), which expanded on the base laid down in an earlier resolution (WHA 56.26; Annex I) and created a global mandate for VISION 2020. To comply with Resolution WHA 56.26, WHO established a committee to monitor the elimination of avoidable blindness. The principal task of the committee is to monitor progress in implementing VISION 2020 and to assist in the preparation of periodic progress reports. The fi rst meeting of the committee took place on 17–18 January 2006 (1). The main working document of the VISION 2020 initiative has been The Global Initiative for Elimination of Avoidable Blindness (2), which outlines the strategic priorities and areas for activity that had been set before the launch of VISION 2020. More recent information, however, has shown a shift in the causes of preventable blindness and in the challenges faced (section 1). Additionally, the experience gained in the fi rst phase of implementing VISION 2020 provided valuable insights into ways of strengthening programmes and activities, and it became clear that the action plan should be updated and refi ned if the ambitious aims of VISION 2020 were to be achieved on schedule. To this end, a joint WHO–IAPB meeting of experts and representatives of partner organizations was convened (3) to review and update the original working document and to address emerging issues in the prevention of avoidable visual impairment. The resulting document highlights the main issues and developments and lays out a clear agenda for the next phase of implementation of VISION 2020. It is envisaged that this document will provide guidance for identifying the main global challenges for eye health, the opportunities for addressing them and the action to be taken by the international community in order to improve eye health globally. As