Untreated eye conditions remain a leading cause of preventable blindness and visual impairment in Bhutan. Coinciding with World Sight Day, the Ministry of Health today launched a five-year National Strategic Plan for Eye Health, aimed at improving access to quality eye care, strengthening collaboration and increasing public awareness by 2030.
Cataract and distance refractive error are currently the two leading causes of blindness and visual impairment in the country.
Last year, Bhutan reported 7,132 cases of cataract, making it the highest vision-related issue in the country. Cataract is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens, while distance refractive error causes distant objects to appear blurry and includes conditions such as myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia.
Both conditions are treatable.
According to the World Health Organisation, Bhutan’s effective treatment coverage is currently 22 percent for cataract surgery and 48 percent for refractive errors, meaning about one in five people receive effective cataract treatment.
The new strategy aims to increase treatment coverage to 55 percent for cataract and 85 percent for refractive error by 2030.
Sonam Peldon, Programme Analyst with the Primary Eye Care Programme at the Ministry of Health, said the strategy will expand current efforts through increased training, public awareness and nationwide eye camps.
“The strategy will help expand our current efforts. We want to provide more training and raise awareness among the public. We want people to participate in nationwide eye camps. These days, people mostly visit the hospital only when they suffer from some eye problems. So, we want to promote the importance of regular eye screenings, even if they do not currently have any eye-related issues.”
Dechen Wangmo, Paediatric Ophthalmologist and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at JDWNRH, said the focus should be on both increasing the number of surgeries and improving the quality of services.
“Some of the things we need to do is not only do more surgery to cover the cases, particularly like cataract, but also to improve the quality. The second thing we need to do is also to create demand and awareness for the public, so they come forward to receive the services.”
The Ministry of Health also plans to increase screening and treatment for diabetic retinopathy to 80 percent by 2030.
Diabetic retinopathy is a common eye condition caused by high blood sugar levels, which can damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina.
However, expanding eye care services also depends on people seeking care before their vision deteriorates and returning for follow-up treatment.
In 2024, 3,460 patients underwent cataract surgery in the country. Of these, only around 1,255, or less than half, returned for follow-up within the first month after surgery.
Dechen Wangmo said some patients do not return for follow-up because their vision improves soon after surgery.
“One of the reasons why our patients after doing surgery, they don’t come for follow-up, is a lot of them actually within one week, their vision becomes totally normal. So then they think it’s not necessary. But for us as eye care professionals, we do a calculation that after surgery about a month or so, we need to measure what their functional vision is.”
The strategy also aims to make eye care devices, such as spectacles, more affordable in hospitals and private optical shops.
A 2021 study conducted by the Ministry of Health found that only half of the population’s vision needs were being met, particularly among young people and the elderly.
The intervention is expected to expand refractive error coverage in the country.
With the new strategy, the focus now shifts to delivering these services and meeting the targets. While the Ministry of Health can expand services, achieving the coverage targets will also depend on people coming forward for eye care and taking responsibility for their eye health.
Singye Dema
Edited by Sonam Wangdi
