Asha Kirana vision care initiative reaches 1.4 crore people across State

The State health department’s flagship eye-care initiative, Asha Kirana, redesigned with the objective of eliminating preventable visual impairment, has facilitated free eye screenings for 1.4 crore people through ASHA workers since its launch in July last year.

To tackle preventable blindness, the health department expanded and restructured the Asha Kirana programme under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI). As part of this initiative to strengthen institutional services, 393 permanent Asha Kirana vision centres have been established across district hospitals, taluk hospitals, and community health centres.

Cataract surgeries

Launched simultaneously on July 3, 2025, the centres provide comprehensive eye-care services, including vision screening, free distribution of spectacles, free cataract surgeries, and eye donation and collection services.

While 1.4 crore people have been screened in these centres so far, over 291 lakh people have been provided free spectacles. A total of 4,19,972 cataract surgeries have been performed till January 2026, of which 58,582 were conducted in government hospitals and 3,61,390 in private hospitals, according to data.

Aimed at increasing awareness and access to eye health services, particularly targeting cataracts and uncorrected refractive errors — the two major causes of vision impairment in the country — the programme was earlier carried out through doorstep screenings by ASHA workers and field staff from the department on a campaign mode.

However, under the redesigned programme, people can visit the vision centres in public health facilities at their convenience and get screened for eye problems. This ensures continuous and accessible services, officials said.

WHO recognition

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the initiative has emerged as a source of hope for economically disadvantaged individuals who have lost vision due to various health conditions. “The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended the programme, granting it global recognition. The WHO has also expressed interest in documenting the Asha Kirana model to examine the possibility of replicating the comprehensive eye-care framework in other States and countries,” Mr. Rao told The Hindu.