Who's afraid of prevention of blindness?

In this new millennium, the post-genomic era is likely to herald significant advances and changes in the field of ophthalmology research. Wave front deviation guided LASIK to enhance visual acuity, gene knockout therapy for AMD, and ex vivo clonal expansion of limbal stem cells for ocular surface reconstruction are just some of the exciting developments on our horizon. Where then lies any interest in prevention of blindness (POB) programmes? Can research in ocular epidemiology have an impact any longer with young ophthalmic residents, and who attends the POB session at ophthalmic meetings?

Think of cataract, and one usually thinks of the latest chop, or flip flop technique of nucleus removal within an elegant clear corneal, topical phacoemulsification procedure, not cataract camp surgery in India. And yet, in this new age of technological success and innovation, more people than ever before will continue to go blind from cataract by simply not having access to surgery. Hugh Taylor estimated in 1995 that five out of six people blind from cataract die before they receive cataract surgery.1 Age related blindness from cataract now accounts for 50% of …