HYDERABAD, Aug 24 (UNI): Two Pakistani doctors have arrived here to specialise in paediatric ophthalmology as part of a training programme sponsored by VISION 2020, the Right to Sight initiative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Opthalmologist Md Younas Khan and Naeem Khan from Peshawar were undergoing training at the LV Prasad Eye Hospital (LVPEH) which is a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness and the headquarters of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness.
While Dr Younas Khan would undergo short-term training for three months, his colleague Dr Naeem Khan would be here for a year.
The two doctors are from the Pakistan Institute of Community Ophthalmology (PICO), a government institute in Hayatabad Medical Complex of Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province.
PICO had its beginnings in a small room in 1989, following a WHO survey on the prevalence of eye disease in the region.
The survey showed that cataract, which was preventable and treatable, accounted for 71 per cent of blindness in Pakistan.
By 1997, PICO had grown into a full-fledged opthalmology institute.
Dr Younas Khan told UNI he had been with PICO since its inception, while Dr Naeem Khan joined in 1993.
The Institute had two wings-clinical and community eye care.
The eye hospital handled 400 to 500 surgeries a month, 60 per cent of which were cataract.
Majority of ophthalmologists were trained in comprehensive opthalmology.
This was slowly changing as doctors were opting for training in specialities, Dr Naeem Khan said.
With growing awareness of sub-specialities of the eye, PICO now had clinics in cornea, retina, ocular surfaces, oculoplasty and paediatric ophthalmology.
While eye centres in Pakistan districts were well appointed, they lacked speciality treatment.
PICO is the only tertiary care hospital in NWFP, pioneering in sub-specialty care, he said.
Its catchment area included parts of Punjab, the Fedarally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) and the whole province of NWFP.
Almost 20 per cent of patients came from Afghanisthan.
Community screening programmes were conducted regularly with the involvement of district opthalmologists.
Speciality cases were referred to tertiary centres, he added.
Dr Naeem's wife Nasreen Laiq is an anesthetist and had come earlier this year for short-term training at LVPEH.
Infantry brigade demo for defence media course participants PUNE, Aug 24 (UNI): The 330 Infantry Brigade held a demonstration for participants of the 21-day Defence Correspondents Course at the National Defence Academy(NDA) here.
Spokesperson Lt Col Rahul Sharma told mediapersons yesterday that the objective of the demonstration was to educate mediapersons in tactics and strategies to counter enemy attack.
"The media should be exposed to the Army so that there is a better understanding between us and to correctly represent us," he said.
The 21-day Defence Correspondents Course has been revived after a long gap with the initiative of the Army Chief J J Singh.
Around 30 journalists are participating in the course and they will be taken to different places including Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir to make them aware of the constraints and psychology of soldiers as well as acquaint them with the functioning of the three wings of the defence forces.
The participants will also be taken to forward areas to give them a feel of counter insurgency operations.
