LV Prasad Eye Institute(LVPEI) partnered with theBajaj Groupto establish ‘Anant Bajaj Retina Institute’ as a centre of excellence and a global resource centre for retinal diseases. The memorandum of understanding was signed between chairman and managing director of Bajaj Electricals Shekhar Bajaj and LVPEI executive chairDr. Prashant Garg on Friday.
Anant Bajaj Retina Institute will be an integral part of LVPEI to enhance access to high-quality retina care for people. It will train ophthalmologists and eye care personnel, build capacity of other eye care organisations, promote and enhance research capacity, scale up community eye health programmes and utilise technology for better care of retinal diseases.
“LVPEI is developing institutes of excellence and global resource centres for controlling all major forms of blindness and visual impairment through dedicated efforts from health promotion to the treatment of complex eye diseases and rehabilitation of the incurably blind. We are excited to partner with Mr. Bajaj and the Bajaj Group,” saidDr. Garg.
“We are pleased to partner with an institution reputed for its excellence and innovation in providing world class service towards eye care.Together we can make a big difference through multiple eye care centres to provide preventive and rehabilitation services to all, especially those in rural areas. Anant’s dream was to combine cutting-edge technology with philanthropy to make a difference in the lives of people,” saidMr. Bajaj.
Retina is the innermost layer of the eye and plays a critical role for sight. Once damaged, it results in irreversible vision loss and retinal problems are diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa and other hereditary retinal diseases. These can be controlled and managed if diagnosed early and treated in time,said network head of the fledgling newinstitute Dr.Raja Narayanan.
The LVPEI, established in 1987, has 236 centres spread across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka and had served 3.21 crore people with more than 50% free of cost, providing high quality and comprehensive — prevention, curative and rehabilitation — eye care to all,said a press release.
