40m people worldwide suffering from visual impairment

Islamabad :Forty million people worldwide are visually impaired. Retinitis Pigmentosa and Allied Retinal Dystrophies are becoming prevailing causes of visual impairment. On World Retina Day, is observed, the Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB), a self-help organisation working against blindness, has appealed to the affluent segment of the society to fund its various projects as the organization needs a constant stream of resources for sustenance and expansion.

It is critical to find treatments for visual impairment resulting from inherited retinal disorders as the condition is associated with a severely diminished quality of life. Affected people are less able to perform routine activities of daily living, are less mobile, are more isolated, suffer higher rates of depression, and consequently have a substantially reduced overall quality of life.

Impaired vision is a significant risk factor for falls and fractures and the ability to travel independently, often linked with issues of quality of life, becomes challenging and daunting in the presence of vision loss. People with sight loss confront formidable challenges in using computers and harnessing the internet to access information, to communicate, and to pursue their academic and career aspirations.

PFFB’s work is inspired by Retina International (RI), an NGO which acts as the voice of 50 charities in 34 countries, funding research into rare, genetic, and age-related forms of sight loss. According to the Chief Executive Officer of RI, Avril Daly, RI will launch an online toolkit on genetic testing services this year on World Retina Day. This toolkit will have easy to understand information on the various types of genetic tests available, what they are used for, the benefits of taking a test and the importance of working together as a community to advocate for equitable access to and reimbursement of genetic testing services globally.

PFFB has also made elaborate plans to celebrate the event. It will disseminate information through public awareness sessions and on major radio, print and electronic media to propagate this cause. PFFB has played an indispensable role in finding a cure for retinal degenerative diseases. It is helping visually impaired persons to make them productive members of the society since 1988. Over the period of time PFFB has benefitted more than 18,000 visually impaired.

“The assistance and support of community is vital for the success of any organization. If you know any person who is suffering from retinal diseases, please tell us about him,” a press release issued by PFFB states.

PFFB is currently working actively in several areas including an following an audio World Program, which is a unique project which provides free doorstep delivery of government curriculum text books (grade V up to master’s level) and a wide range of pleasure listening books recorded in our its studios, to visually impaired persons throughout the country.

Another of its projects is the PFFB Internet Café which is the first Internet Café for visually impaired in Pakistan. The objective of this Café is to provide training on computing skills, group and individual counselling, assistive software CDs, aides such as white canes, wristwatches and book scanning. “By providing these services, we have experienced numerous educational and employment opportunities opening up for the blind. This shall lead to whole new vista of empowerment,” a spokesman of PFFB stated.

In 2011, PFFB, in collaboration with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), initiated a national project to expand services of Audio World Program and PFFB IT Centre Project to mass scale was launched. A new medium of MP3 player with digital recording of the textbook course was introduced beside cassettes and CDs for audio world beneficiaries. Under this project, PFFB also established five IT Centres Computer Labs for Visually Impaired Persons in Government Special Education schools located in Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Karachi and Mirpur Azad Kashmir. With the passage of time, PFFB has established 10 accessible computer labs across Pakistan. PFFB also organizes trainings workshops on mobility, computing and communication skills, personality grooming, art and craft jewellery making on national level.

Besides providing awareness to visually impaired persons in Pakistan, PFFB medical and research board members participate in Retina International World Conference organized by Retina International every two years and disseminates the latest information about RP research worldwide.

PFFB has requested the affluent to donate to its causes via cheques on the following address: Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness, Office no. 3, 2nd Floor, Al-Babar Centre, F-8 Markaz, P. O. Box 1652, Islamabad-Pakistan. (email: pffb@comsats.net.pk , pffb.station1@gmail.com website: www.pffb.org.pk Facebook Page: Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness)