Promotion of health and prevention of blindness should be pursued and enhanced.

Nafsiah Mboi 

Promotion of health and prevention of blindness should be pursued and enhanced.



Promotion of health and prevention of blindness should be pursued and enhanced. Therefore, 70 percent even blindness can be prevented. This was conveyed by Minister of Health inaugurated as Nafsiah Mboi Eye Hospital Eye Center @ Kedoya Jakarta, Saturday (02/02/2013), in Jakarta.

RS's Inauguration Jakarta Eye Center (JEC) @ Kedoya coincide with the 29th anniversary of the JEC (1984-2013). The event was attended by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health of Indonesia Supriyantoro, Director-General of Health Ministry of Health RI Efforts Akmal Taher, Managing Director of RS's Cicendo Wisdom Wangsaatmadja Bandung, Chairman of Indonesian Ophthalmologist Association (Perdami) Nila F Moeloek, Founder of Heart of Panji Wisaksana Eye Movement, as well as ASEAN delegates Association of Eye Hospital of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The event celebrated by staging dance performances mask and sand painting. Nafsiah said blindness is still a health problem in Indonesia. An estimated 1.5 percent of Indonesia's population, approximately 3.6 million are blind. The main causes of blindness are cataract, glaucoma, refractive disorders, retinal disorders, corneal disorders, and other diseases associated with old age.

Data Hospital Information System (SIRS) 2011 indicates that the number of ambulatory patients for eye disease is 672,168 people. Based on these data, is reported as the number of refractive disorders 198 036, 94 582 cataract and glaucoma 25,176. Meanwhile, the previous year's data, SIRS 2010 show, eye diseases including 10 diseases with the highest outpatient visits at the hospital. "The most widely reported is a disorder of refraction and accommodation," said Nafsiah.

Total interruption of refraction and accommodation visit as many as 180,310 cases or 1.72 percent of total outpatient visits in hospitals, amounting to 10,466,415 visits. Of these, Jakarta accounted for the greatest number. "There's 46,177 visits a year," said Nafsiah.

Nafsiah said the issue of visual impairment needs serious attention. Because visual impairment in adults would disrupt productivity and reduced quality of life. Meanwhile, visual impairment in children will greatly affect their future, not to mention their ability to absorb the lessons.

According to Nafsiah, to overcome the problem of visual impairment and blindness in Indonesia, the government committed to realize the vision of Healthy Eyes 2020. The goal is to have every citizen in Indonesia met her right to have optimal vision.

Nafsiah also appreciate the presence of RS's JEC @ Kedoya as one eye hospital with the latest technology in Indonesia. Eye hospital in operation since 2 April 2012 is already serving about 50,000 outpatients with 10-15 percent of whom underwent eye surgery. "With the ever increasing life expectancy, the aging of the population of Indonesia, as well as a variety of pollutants, lifestyle changes, various diseases, such as diabetes, AIDS, and so forth, it takes an excellent center in eye health," he said.

Nafsiah also hope the hospitals provide the best service to all people, especially people who can not come to Jakarta. In addition, the hospital is expected to continue to make the promotion of health and prevention of blindness.

Director of JEC @ Kedoya Darwan M Purba said that health promotion and prevention measures for the blindness community is done through various seminars. "Through the seminars, the people were told how to maintain healthy eyes," he said.

JEC contribution to society is also manifested in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the form of free cataract surgery. Free cataract surgery CSR activities carried out in collaboration with various organizations, such as the Movement's Heart.

Each year the JEC run 2-3 times a free cataract surgery CSR activities by the number of 50-100 people per activity. According Purba, CSR activities are carried out free cataract operations since JEC stand. "It becomes part of the company's commitment to help government program to combat blindness in Indonesia are still very concerned," he said.