16 percent suffering from night blindness

Night blindness in Pakistan is turning out to be real misfortune to masses as about 16 percent of the people of the country particularly children of the age of 15 years suffer to this problem. This was said by participants in a road safety seminar on the "Night Blindness-A Threat to Road Safety" which was conducted by National Highways & Motorway police (NH&MP) with collaboration of Vision Foundation on Thursday.
Presenters at the seminar said that Night blindness is the inability to see well at night or in poor light. The night blindness is not a disease itself, but is the indicator that its patients have some other problems that include myopia, cataract, retinitis pigmentosa, and malnutrition.
The chief guest on this occasion Inspector General National Highway & Motorway Police (NH&MP) Wajid Ali Khan Durani said that there is dire need to spread awareness amongst road users, practically amongst the drivers of heavy vehicles and public service vehicles (PSVs) about destruction of this menace, said IG NH&MP.
He said that people consider NH&MP same as traffic police but it is a different set up and since its inception NH&MP adopted friendly policing way to deal with public and took numerous initiatives for the improvement of the road safety conditions on the highway and motorways.
Durani said that there was a difference between driving and driving with traffic sense and in order to create that sense NH&MP adopt extraordinary way to teach people traffic rules, "We targeted children and students for the awareness which is appeared to be successful as children intercept their parents and elders over breaking single or not tying seat belt.
Wajid Durrani said safety of road users comes first however the issue regarding night blindness has not been addressed yet which is posing great threat to road safety on Motorways and Highways. President of the Vision Foundation said that he started work for the victims of the disease as he had been also affected by disease and lost his eyesight. He said doctor suggest eggs, milk and other things to meet the need of nutrition which is, though right, impossible for the poor people particularly belong to rural areas.
He hinted that his organisation has discovered some treatment of the disease whose results are very amazing and encouraging but after they would announce that officially after sometime. He stressed need of increased research in Pakistan in different fields particularly in medical to provide facilities to the public in low rates. President Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Professor Idrees Aidhi, Farooq Azam, AIG Operation & Development (NH&MP), Dr Khalid Hussain Shaikh, Additional Secretary, Health Department and others also spoke.