Ensuring eye health is integrated within the urban public health system in Patna, Bihar for ease of access for urban poor populations, especially slum communities.
Location
Patna, Bihar, India
Urban Eye Health Programme
Key Stakeholders
Older People
Disabled People
Informal Residents
Informal Workers
Other Stakeholders
Local NGOs, CSOs, CBOs
City Authorities
Other Service Providers
State / Federal Actors
Professional Associations
Relevant SDGS
Disruption
City and Sector
Scaleability
National
Summary
Context
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The City of Patna, Bihar, has 110 listed slums with around 110,000 inhabitants.3
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Prior to September 2019, the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) did not cater to the eye health needs of the urban slum population in Patna.
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Government-accredited community health workers were not oriented on primary eye health services, the Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) also did not provide these services, and cataract surgery services were only available for hospital walk-ins.
Interview
In this interview, RN Mohanty, Chief Executive Officer of Sightsavers India, tells us why this programme in Bihar represents a first of its kind – both for Sightsavers and in India – as a highly scaleable new model for integrating primary eye health services into urban public primary health services. RN explains why it is important for an organisation like Sightsavers to work in partnership with government to show what is possible in terms of improved service delivery for urban poor communities and how integration into the public health system will work, and supporting the government as the best placed actor to scale up to other cities.
In the short excerpt below, RN briefly explains the big idea behind the Urban Eye Health Programme. For the FULL INTERVIEW, please visit Soundcloud or Spotify.
Key Programme Activities
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Community engagement
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Data/technology
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Education/behaviour change
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Policy/advocacy
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Improved service delivery
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Stakeholder co-ordination, network-building
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Technical support
Key Outcomes
Since 2019, through this programme:
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Patna now has 23 Vision Centres flourishing in 23 Urban Primary Health Centres.
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From September 2019-20, community health workers screened 48,557 people and optometrists in the Vision Centres provided primary eye health treatments to 16,318 patients. 2,768 people were identified for onward referral for hospital cataract surgery and 6,336 people were prescribed spectacles.
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Additional diabetes screening and referral services are also provided from within the urban public health system.
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The Government of India has acknowledged this work as the first of its kind in India where primary eye health services have been integrated into urban primary health services. Sightsavers is already planning to replicate the Patna model with government in 20 cities, including Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kolkata.
- Photo Credits
- – Sightsavers India
- Notes
- – 1 Statistics from UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018)
- – 2 Statistics from UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018), estimated average annual growth rate (2020-25)
- – 3 Statistics from Sightsavers India
