Coimbatore : The Eye Foundation, a leading eye care centre here, joined hands with Rotary Texcity and launched ‘Eye Serve’, an eye care programme for the needy on Saturday.
Under the programme, Rotary Texcity will assist in identifying locations for community eye camps to be conducted by the medical team from Rajalakshmi

Nethralaya, a sister concern of the foundation. It would then mobilise grants for providing equipment for carrying out complex investigative procedures and surgeries for glaucoma, vitreo retinal disorders and oculoplasty to the needy free of cost, District Governor of Rotary Texcity RI Dist 3201 R Madhav Chandran said at the launch function.

About Rs 1 crore would be earmarked for the purchase of the equipment, he said, adding that more funds would be allocated later.

Foundation Director Dr Ramamurthy said blindness in the country was a leading cause of morbidity and the prevalence of visual impairment among elderly persons ranged from 22 to 35 per cent.

Cataract and uncorrected refractive errors were the most common causes of both visual impairment and blindness with 30 per cent of blind losing eyesight before the age of 20.