The book covers all aspects of eye health in South-East Asia from public health to health system to education to industry in 6 sections. The World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia region comprises of 11 countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. This region is home to 26% of world population; there is a disproportionate amount of blindness (30.6%) and visual impairment (36%). This is a first of its kind book that discusses common conditions of visual impairment and blindness in the South-East Asia region. In addition, the book documents the current eye care industry in the region and the contribution of all eye health INGOs in eye care program planning and service delivery for many decades. Majority of the countries in the South-East Asia region are categorized in ‘middle-income country’ group. This book discusses the common challenges in these countries such as, suboptimal public expenditure in health, acute shortage of skilled eye health workforce, and rudimentary health industry. The book covers the following 6 sections: 1. Geographic description and health indices of the region 2. Health system evolved over years, including universal eye health, health financing and health management information system (HMIS) 3. Common eye problems including non-communicable disease NCD (and diabetic retinopathy), neglected tropical disease NTD (and Trachoma) 4. Health workforce in the region that includes ophthalmologists, optometrists, and allied ophthalmic personnel 5. Eye health support in the region of 13 international non-government organizations (INGOs) working for decades 6. Eye health industry in the region that includes spectacles, ophthalmic devices and equipment and the pharma industry The book would be a useful resource for ophthalmologists, all public health personnel and policy makers in eye health in the South-East Asia region specifically and all ophthalmologists and scientists interested in public health all over the world as well as for program planning to reach the 'Health for All' strategy by 2030 (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 2030).

The Action plan for integrated people-centred eye care in the South-East Asia Region 2022-2030 has been developed with the aim of ensuring that "all people in the Region have equitable access to high-quality, comprehensive eye health services to achieve universal eye health by 2030". To do that, the action plan provides detailed guidance for all eye health stakeholders, with a focus on service integration, including by building the capacity of teams of health and social workers that are in close contact with individuals and affected communities. It is aligned with the Region's Strategy for Primary Health Care and promotes the use of regional institutions and WHO Collaborating Centres to reach the global targets of effective coverage of cataract surgery, effective coverage of refractive error, and the Region's targets on diabetic retinopathy and trachoma elimination.

This book describes community ophthalmology professionals in South Asia who demonstrate social entrepreneurship in global health to help the rural poor. Their innovations contested economic and scientific norms, and spread from India and Nepal outwards to other countries in Africa and Asia, as well as the United States, Australia, and Finland. This feminist postcolonial global ethnography illustrates how these innovations have resulted in dual socio-technical systems to solve the problem of avoidable blindness. Policymakers and activists might use this example of how to avoid Schumacher's critique of low labor, large scale and implement Gandhi's philosophy of good for all.

Diabetic retinopathy is an increasingly significant cause of vision impairment and blindness in the WHO South-East Asia Region, where the prevalence of diabetes is rising. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that the number of people with diabetes in seven of the Region's 11 countries is likely to increase from 87.6 million in 2019 to 115.1 million by 2030. This will, in turn, increase the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy. Immediate and decisive action is required to control diabetes and, with it, diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is preventable; periodic eye examinations by ophthalmologists, accompanied by standard treatment of diabetic retinopathy, can postpone serious loss of vision. The guidelines presented here are aligned with the Integrated people-centred Eye Care model as recommended by the World Report on Vision. They highlight the critical need for countries to adopt a coordinated and multisectoral approach to reduce the incidence of diabetes and the onset of diabetic retinopathy. This approach can be implemented at all levels of the health system.

The Report for the 2030 targets on effective coverage of eye care intends to serve as a reference point to commence monitoring progress towards the 2030 global targets that were endorsed by Member States at the 74th World Health Assembly. This report draws on key results from a comprehensive analysis of population-based eye health surveys and includes estimates of effective cataract surgery coverage (eCSC) and effective refractive error coverage (eREC) at the global level, by WHO region, sex and World Bank income level, and the relative quality gap (that is, the percentage difference between ‘effective coverage’ and ‘coverage’). It also serves to highlight key gaps in current data and presents suggestions for additional efforts required to advance the monitoring, policies and programmes for increasing the coverage of eye care interventions.

The number of the millions of blind in the world continues to grow, causing needless social and economic deprivation. Most of these blind can be cured, and much of the remainder prevented if all people had access to the simple and effective interventions that already exist. In this newly revised fourth edition ofEye Care in Developing Nations', t