Expanding treatment alone is not enough to protect people’s eye health across the country; coordinated, wide-ranging awareness work is needed, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has said. He called on all parties concerned, alongside the health sector, to work together.
He said that to reduce the risk of eye disease, it is not enough to think about eye health alone; overall health risks including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and kidney disease must be considered together. Everyone must take regular care of their own health and stay aware.
He was speaking as chief guest on Sunday at a workshop titled “Validation and finalisation of the multisectoral action plan on eye health in Bangladesh” at the InterContinental hotel in Dhaka. Additional Secretary ANM Moinul Islam of the Health Services Division presided.
Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain said the government alone cannot ensure everyone’s health; awareness must be raised at every level. Diabetes is raising the risk of damage to the eyes and kidneys as well as heart disease and stroke. Cataract surgery is also expensive for many people. He therefore urged doctors to work together on protecting eye health, along with disease prevention and early detection.
He said diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and eye and kidney disease are closely linked. So people’s overall health cannot be protected by treating these diseases in isolation, one by one. Coordinated treatment and prevention are needed.
The health minister said effective groups or platforms of specialist doctors from different fields must be set up, to raise public awareness, prevent disease and provide treatment jointly. That way people can learn early about serious risks such as kidney and eye damage from diabetes, or stroke from high blood pressure.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report