Nearly 5% of Sri Lanka’s population is suffering from glaucoma, Secretary to the Ministry of Health – Dr. Palitha Mahipala says.
Noting that glaucoma is one of the main causes of blindness in the world, Dr. Mahipala stated that there is a significant rise in glaucoma cases not only in Sri Lanka, but also across the world.
“If you take the world, 3.54% are suffering from glaucoma, but if you take Sri Lanka, it’s almost 5%. This may also be because of our increased elderly population”, the Health Secretary explained, emphasising the importance of going for regular eye check-ups, and making use of the programmes in place within the country’s health system to detect eye illnesses early.
The World Glaucoma Week for 2024 is held from March 10-16 and a host of public awareness programmes as well as a series of eye clinics are to be held in several districts.
