title: Is the 2015 eye care service delivery profile in Southeast Asia closer to universal eye health need!
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The year 2015 status of eye care service profile in Southeast Asia countries was compared with year 2010 data to determine the state of preparedness to achieve the World Health Organization global action plan 2019.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information was collected from the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness country chairs and from the recent PubMed referenced articles. The data included the following: blindness and low vision prevalence, national eye health policy, eye health expenses, presence of international non-governmental organizations, density of eye health personnel, and the cataract surgical rate and coverage. The last two key parameters were compared with year 2010 data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten of 11 country chairs shared the information, and 28 PubMed referenced publications were assessed. The prevalence of blindness was lowest in Bhutan and highest in Timor-Leste. Cataract surgical rate was high in India and Sri Lanka. Cataract surgical coverage was high in Thailand and Sri Lanka. Despite increase in number of ophthalmologists in all countries (except Timor-Leste), the ratio of the population was adequate (1:100,000) only in 4 of 10 countries (Bhutan, India, Maldives and Thailand), but this did not benefit much due to unequal urban-rural divide.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The midterm assessment suggests that all countries must design the current programs to effectively address both current and emerging causes of blindness. Capacity building and proportionate distribution of human resources for adequate rural reach along with poverty alleviation could be the keys to achieve the universal eye health by 2019.
authors.affiliation: L V Prasad Eye Institute, Road #2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, 500 034, India. tpd@lvpei.org.|IAPB Southeast Asia Region, Hyderabad, India. tpd@lvpei.org.
authors.forename: Taraprasad
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1295-4528
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, London, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ackland
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Dili, Timor-Leste.
authors.forename: Marcelino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Prut
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hanutsaha
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Palitha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mahipala
authors.affiliation: VISION 2020 India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Phanindra B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Nukella
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Gopal P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Pokharel
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Abu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raihan
authors.affiliation: L V Prasad Eye Institute, Road #2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, 500 034, India.
authors.forename: Gullapalli N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai, India.
authors.forename: Thulasiraj D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Ravilla
authors.affiliation: IAPB Southeast Asia Region, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Yudha D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Sapkota
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Simanjuntak
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Thimpu, Bhutan.
authors.forename: Ngwang
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tenzin
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Male, Maldives.
authors.forename: Ubeydulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Thoufeeq
authors.affiliation: IAPB Country Chair, Yangoon, Myanmar.
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Win
mesh_terms: D001210:Asia, Southeastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Eye care delivery; Southeast Asia; Universal eye health