Around 1.73 lakh school children in Karnataka suffer from refractive errors, reveals health department report
The Hindu
The ‘School Children Eye Screening’ report for the 2022-23 academic year was the outcome of a survey by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in March 2023. Of the total screened children (62,08,779), 1,73,099 children were suffering from refractive errors. The highest number of such cases were in Belagavi district (39,997).
As many as 1.73 lakh children in Karnataka were found to be suffering from refractive errors, possibly due to excessive use of mobile phone and TV.
According to the ‘School Children Eye Screening’ report for the 2022-23 academic year, which was the outcome of a survey by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in March 2023, of the total screened children (62,08,779), 1,73,099 children were suffering from refractive errors. The highest number of such cases were in Belagavi district (39,997).
Under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), the Department of Health and Family Welfare conducted the screening, including for eyes, anaemia, malnutrition, and worms, for children of government, aided and private schools across Karnataka
In the academic year 2022-23, the department had a target of 64,48,793 students for eye screening. The department screened 62,08,779 children.
The screening revealed that 39,997 children in Belagavi district suffer from refractive errors. The number for Vijayapura is 13,170, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits 10,193 cases, Davangere 6,348, Shivamogga 5,837 and Bidar has 5,677 such cases.
The department has distributed 88,210 free glasses to children suffering from refractive errors.
Experts opine that excessive use of mobile phones and TV screens is the main reason for the problem.
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