Eye care not a priority for Indians
Even
though India has the highest population of visually impaired, a new study has
found that eye health is of the lowest priority amongst Indians. A study found
that compares to 10 other markets Indians are most likely to have never had an
eye examination. Spanning across 26 countries, the survey by Bausch + Lomb
polled around 11,000 consumers in Brazil, China, France, Germany, India and
Italy, among others. “One in 10 Indians have never had a comprehensive eye
examination. Around 70 percent Indians do not get their eyes checked more often
because they feel that they do not have any symptoms,” the survey said.
In another startling finding,
the study reported around 97 percent of doctors surveyed globally believed
consumers do not have sufficient eye health knowledge. The public poll sheds
light on the state of consumer awareness, attitudes and behaviours related to
eye health adding over 80 percent of visual impairment is preventable if
detected. “Most cases can be cured if detected on time – however, the study
reveals that Indians don’t take their eye health seriously. Around 58 percent
Indians believe that they do not need an eye test unless they have a problem,”
said Harish Natarajan. Interestingly, women came out top in the battle of the
sexes by taking far better care of their eyes, such as eating a healthy diet
and wearing sunglasses, the study reported.
Source:
http://health.india.com
20.07.2012
India lags behind most countries in children’s health:
Save the Children
A recent Save the Children report suggests that
India lags behind most countries when it comes to children’s health. With 1.25
million infant deaths annually and 42 percent of the kids being underweight,
India has slipped in the area of child well-being in the last 15 years,
according to the report. The Child Development Index (CDI) released by NGO Save
the Children showed that Japan is the best place in the world to be a child
while Somalia is the worst. The report noted that while many countries in the
world made remarkable progress in child health, education and nutrition – the
three premises that form the basis of this report – India slipped by 12 ranks
between 1995 and 2010. The report made an aggregate analysis of the CDI in
three time periods – 1995-1999, 2000-2004 and 2005-2010.
India’s poor performance comes in the context of
as many as 127 countries improving their scores between 1995 and 2010. ”Our
global child development report shows that out of the 141 countries that have
been ranked, India with its CDI rank at 112 (out of 141 countries) in 2005-10
is among the only 14 whose rank has dropped,” said Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the
Children, India.
According to figures, 1.25 million infants die in
India annually and 42 percent of children are underweight. ”It is a wake-up
call for us. Save the Children has reiterated that economic progress must
result in inclusive growth for all, especially the poor and the marginalised,”
he said. The CDI, launched in 2008 as a tool to monitor the progress in child
well-being, ranks the best and worst places to be a child and improvements in
the field at the global level.
It measures the number of children in school, the
under-five mortality rates and he number of underweight children. The 2012
edition of CDI also showed that the lives of children around the world, in the
indicators we measured, improved by more than 30 percent. ”This means that the
chances of a child going to school were one-third higher, and the chances of an
infant dying before their fifth birthday were one-third lower at the end of the
2000s than a decade before. During this period child well-being improved in 90
percent of the countries surveyed,” the report said.
Success is the
sum of small efforts
Robert Collier
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