Khulna BNSB Eye Hospital, a non-government, non-profiting voluntary organization established in the year 1976 with a view to contribute to the national blindness prevention program as cataract blindness considered to be the major cause of blindness worldwide as well as in Bangladesh. In a least developed country like Bangladesh it was beyond capacity to combat the situation by the government alone. Realizing the depth of the situation a group of kindhearted people came forward to set up an organization in the name & style, Khulna BNSB Eye Hospital with a view to supplement the government efforts as well as serving the needy poor people to preserve their sight.
More than 3.70 million mostly marginal poor patients treated at the hospital since 1976 as a branch of BNSB headquarters in the capital (now Khulna BNSB operates under a trustee board). Among them over 57,000 poor patients who received completely free surgery. The 3-storey building hospital gradually expanded under much philanthropic collaboration, including Operation Eyesight Universal, a Canada-based international development organization, Orbis International, Sight Savers and Bonn-based charity organization, Andheri-Life. On an average some 20 million people depend on for such specialized eye care services with more than 300 patients crowd the outdoor department of the hospital for consultation every day. So far the hospital treated some 190,000 children conducting 2,322 surgeries, mostly cataract.
Key activities and Working Area
The Khulna BNSB Eye hospital, despite treating all ages of the patients, has a special recognition for treatment of childhood blindness. Orbis International, active partner of Bangladesh since last 30 years now, is behind such recognition which has been silently supporting the hospital to serve the ever growing demands of treating particularly childhood blindness. The hospital’s pediatric (children) department (furnished by Orbis) expanded from a very tiny to a fully equipped department where today it carters to the needs of all children registering for eye treatment, including those coming from out-reach camps held regularly.
The location of the 100-bed Khulna BNSB Eye hospital in Fultala, about 30 minutes’ drive from Khulna city Centre, offers eye care services to patients from adjacent districts like, Satkhira, Jessore, Bagerhat, Gopalganj, Kushtia, Jhenidah and Chuadanga. The hospital’s reputation and quality of services match no other eye hospital in the south western region of the country. They organized special training for doctors and paramedics for treatment of children and adults with all necessary support for medical instruments.
Future planning
The achievements obtained so far though not little, yet we have to run for a long way ahead. Service demand and people’s expectation reached high up to such level that it has become a major responsibility to fulfill their expectation.
The service facilities that still remains within the planning level and could not be materialized due to lack of funds, we would humbly appeal to the prospective donors of the country and abroad for generous donations so as to be able to materialize those dreams in near future.