International recognition for LVPEI doctors

Two city-based doctors from LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Dr Taraprasad Das and Dr Rohit Khanna received international recognition recently. The announcement came from Founder-Chairman of LVPEI, Dr Gullapalli N Rao, who shared the details of the honour.

“Dr Taraprasad Das, Vice-Chair, LVPEI has been re-elected as Regional Chair - South East Asia for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). He will hold this position from October 2016 to 2020,” informed Dr Rao. Dr Taraprasad Das has also served as IAPB’s regional chair for South East Asia in the preceding term.

During this tenure, he hosted a workshop at LVPEI in Hyderabad where 64 delegates from across the globe discussed key aspects of eye health delivery, universal health coverage and country action plans to reduce avoidable blindness by 2019.

Talking about his new responsibility, Dr Das said, “It is a great honour to take on this post in the last phase of this project. LVPEI has been playing a very active role in IAPB towards eliminating avoidable blindness and this position demands commitment and conviction to ensure that we achieve the objectives and goals within the defined timeframe.”

At the recently concluded World Health Organization (WHO) meeting to develop strategies to deal with cataract blindness in the world, convened at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr Rohit Khanna was one of the members of WHO consultants invited to develop a plan for cataract problem globally.

Sharing his experience, Dr Rohit Khanna, Head of Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye care (public health division of LVPEI) said, “Overall, there were twelve leading international experts in public health approaches and strategies concerning cataract management, and I was proud to be one amongst them to share my views on best practices in financing cataract surgical service to improve access and coverage.

“The goal was to develop a technical brief which reflects the latest evidence, best practices and experience in increasing access to high quality, affordable cataract surgical services,” added Dr Khanna.