PM Oli: Eye health will be included in health insurance program

Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has announced that eye health would be integrated into the national health insurance programme.

PM Oli said so during the inauguration of the international conference named ‘2030 In Sight Live Nepal’ organised by various health organisations, including the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) on Wednesday.

The event is a gathering of leaders, innovators and policy-makers where they deliberate on measures, collaborative initiatives and actions to achieve the goals outlined in the 2030 In Sight Strategy to ensure that eye health is available to everyone by 2030. On the occasion, PM Oli reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening the primary healthcare system and achieving the SDGS.

PM Oli reiterated that the government prioritises eye health and thus is going to integrate it in the national insurance program. He also highlighted the government’s prioritisation of eye-care services, especially for those people at risk of losing their vision.

PM Oli acknowledged the pivotal role played by the ‘Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness’ survey conducted in 2022 in shaping the country’s eye-health priorities. Furthermore, he informed that the National Health Sector strategy has outlined the commitment to expand the coverage of cataract surgery from the current 35-45 per cent to 75 per cent by 2030.

Stating that no country could achieve the desired results in the eye health sector, PM Oli called for greater global collaboration. He asserted that the incumbent government recognised eye health as an important aspect of the public healthcare system.

He shed light on the government’s initiatives, such as eye-screening tests and imparting nursing programmes at the school level, which he had contributed to promoting gender equity and gender access to education.

RSS