South India, especially Tamil Nadu, has always been a forerunner in healthcare, particularly in ophthalmology, Siva V. Meyyanathan, Minister for Environment and Pollution Control, Youth Welfare and Sports Development, said.
Inaugurating the two-day annual conference of the Indian Intraocular Implant and Refractive Society (IIRSI) on Saturday, he urged the ophthalmologists to treat the poor and the marginalised in society.
‘Latest technology’
Amar Agarwal, secretary general of IIRSI, said about 55% of the 1.2 crore to 1.8 crore persons who were blind had cataract.
“This number has increased because of COVID-19. People are scared to go to hospitals. This has led to maturity of cataract. Through this conference, we want to show the latest technology to treat cataract,” he said.
Vinod Arora, president of IIRSI, said the society was started in 1982 as a platform for interaction among ophthalmologists on the advancements in the field.
The Minister presented awards to national and international ophthalmologists. The conference included lectures, sessions for young ophthalmologists, hands-on wet lab courses, ophthalmic premier league competition, IIRSI film festival award show and photography competition.
Namrata Sharma, honorary general secretary of All India Ophthalmological Society; and Himashu Mehta, past president and Mohan Rajan, its treasurer of IIRSI, spoke.