Bhubaneswar, Sep 14 : The L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI),Bhuabneswar has received the Project Management Institute South Asia (PMI South Asia) award in the NGO category for its outstanding project in rural Odisha.
The project was aimed at managing Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a vision-threatening eye condition in preterm babies.
The award-winning project, titled Screening and Treatment of ROP in Preterm Babies in 8 Odisha Districts has been funded by the Cognizant Foundation.
It was implemented by LVPEI’s MithuTulsiChanrai campus in Bhubaneswar in collaboration with National Health Mission and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram.
Dr Tapas Ranjan Padhi, the project lead, along with other team members, received the award on behalf of LVPEI.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is an emerging 21st-century epidemic and the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in preterm born babies and/ or babies born with a birth weight less than 2.0 kgs, especially babies who were managed in incubators.
The efforts by Ministries of Health over the last two decades to reduce neonatal mortality have improved the survival of preterm babies.
About 30 percent of the children in NICUs/SCNUs are expected to be affected by ROP and close to 18 percent of them can go completely blind if they do not receive timely retinal treatment within 30 days of birth.
Approximately 1000 premature babies are susceptible to go blind every year in Odisha due to ROP.
Increased awareness, early detection and appropriate treatment and follow-up are essential for preventing ROP blindness.
LVPEI campus at Bhubaneswar is the only centre in Odisha offering a protocol-based comprehensive ROP care including neonatal retinal imaging, laser,intravitreal injections,mini neonatal intensive care facility,advanced paediatric retinal microsurgeries,low vision, and amblyopia services under one roof.
The project awarded by PMI was part of the ROP activities by LVPEI in Odisha,covering eight districts: Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Kendujhar, Rayagada, Sundergarh, and Puri.
The LVPEI has successfully screened 1333 preterm babies, saving 216 of them from blindness.
“We are immensely grateful to PMI for this honour and to the Cognizant Foundation for their unwavering support”, Dr Tapas Ranjan Padhi said and dedicated this award to all our patients, partners and collaborators who played an integral role in the execution of this project, preventing avoidable blindness in newborn babies,”.
Project Management Institute is one of the world’s largest not-for-profit membership-associations for the project management profession.
Instituted in 2009, the PMI South Asia award is the highest recognition for the projects executed in South Asia.
