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In India, the present number of people with diabetes is around 36 million and the country is known as the world's diabetes capital.
The incidence of diabetic retinopathy is 10.84% and the complication has been identified as one of the leading causes of blindness.
Ahmedabad is located in Gujarat; an area of India which has one of the highest numbers of people living with diabetes due to urban lifestyle and food habits. Therefore, it has been deemed necessary to initiate a project in order to prevent avoidable blindness in the city of Ahmedabad.
Approach
Three partners: The Nagri Eye Research Foundation, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Samvedana Foundation have joined forces to address diabetic retinopathy in Ahmedabad.
The city of Ahmedabad is divided into 5 zones and the project will be implemented in turns in the zones starting with the central zone, which has the highest population density.
The planned activities involve training, screening, treatment and awareness creation.
500 intern doctors and 300 family physicians will be trained with the purpose of motivating them to educate the patients on the need for ophthalmological examination. 200 optometry students will also receive training.
Around 500 community and social workers - 100 from each zone - are given special training for awareness creation. Their task will be to explain to the general population the importance of attending the screening camps by a door-to-door approach .
The project applies two approaches to screening for diabetic retinopathy. At the 4 AMC hospitals in the city, screening for diabetic retinopathy will be conducted for patients with known diabetes.
Around 75,000 people with diabetes will be screened at the hospitals and those who are in the need of further examination and treatment are referred to the Nagri Eye Hospital where they will receive free treatment if they have incomes below the poverty line.
At the same time, screening camps for the general public are conducted throughout the city zones. Each zone accounts for 20 to 24 camps per year. The camps are conducted fortnightly.
At the camps the general population may be screened for diabetes. Those diagnosed with diabetes are subsequently also screened for diabetic retinopathy. Those requiring treatment are referred to the Nagri Eye Hospital where treatment is given to them free of charge or at a low cost depending on their income level.
In total, 100,000 people will be screened and it is expected that 20,000 will undergo detailed examination.
All patients attending the screening either at the AMC hospitals or at the camps will be given information about diabetes, its complications, their own condition and other relevant issues.
In addition, awareness about diabetes and its complications including diabetic retinopathy will be disseminated through community and social workers, who will also hand out pamphlets. Newspapers, television, radio and arranged talks on the subject will also be used as vehicles for awareness raising. | 
