Identification of 5,348 People with Visual Disabilities in Qazvin

Qazvin Province's Director-General of Welfare announced the identification of 5,348 people with visual disabilities in the province. He said that, based on surveys from 1400 to 1402 (2021–2023), the prevalence of visual disability in Qazvin is estimated at 4.1%, with the counties of Qazvin, Alborz, and Takestan having the highest rates and Avaj the lowest.

According to Ambassador Arjan from Qazvin; "Zahra Gholamrezaei", Director General of Welfare of Qazvin Province, on the occasion of the World White Cane Day and explaining the services of this organization to people with visual disabilities, stated: Out of the total number of people identified in the province, 2,220 people have mild disabilities, 1,237 people have moderate disabilities, 1,459 people have severe disabilities, and 430 people have very severe disabilities.

He added: In terms of gender, 2,000 people with visual disabilities identified in the province are women and 3,348 are men, and these people benefit from the services of the welfare organization.

Qazvin, Alborz and Takestan are at the top of the city statistics

Referring to the statistics of people with visual disabilities in the cities of the province, Gholamrezaei said: Qazvin city has the largest number with 2,403 people. After that, there are Alborz city with 1,999 people and Takstan with 780 people.

According to him, 521 people in Buin Zahra city, 357 people in Abek and 180 people in Auj have been identified as visually impaired and are using welfare services.

The General Director of Welfare of Qazvin Province explained: Based on the survey conducted in 1400 to 1402, the prevalence of visual impairment in the province is estimated at 4.1%. In this survey, Qazvin, Alborz and Takestan cities had the highest and Auj city had the lowest prevalence of vision problems.

Pension and support assistance for people with visual disabilities

Gholamrezaei, referring to the services of the deputy health, treatment and welfare rehabilitation, said: the services of this area are provided in two parts: continuous assistance and case assistance.

He added: Continuous assistance includes the cost of health supplies for needy people, the right to nursing and helping people with disabilities in the family, in compliance with the relevant conditions, and the payment of a pension according to the size of the family.

The General Director of Welfare of Qazvin Province stated about the amount of pensions for families: the pension for one-person households is 2 million and 100 thousand Tomans, two-person households are 2 million and 985 thousand Tomans, three-person households are 4 million and 200 thousand Tomans, four-person households are 5 million and 370 thousand Tomans, and families of five and more are 6 million and 570 thousand Tomans.

He mentioned the allowance for home improvement and military exemption for a male member of the family as other case supports that are provided in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions.

Providing rehabilitation aids and special technologies for the blind

Gholamrezaei, referring to the support for the provision of the necessary equipment for people with visual disabilities, said: the assistance for the purchase of rehabilitation aids and related technologies, including glasses, binoculars, magnifying software, positioning system, Braille writing and reading tools, highlighter, Perkins machine, note taker and visual software are among the services of this organization.

He added: recording and playback devices, touch and sound chess, sound ball, voice recorder, smart Quran teacher, blackboard and pen, calculator, magnifier with light, radio recorder with speaker, white cane and touch and telly clocks are also supported in the list of supported devices. This equipment is provided to 410 qualified people with visual disabilities.

The General Director of Welfare of Qazvin province noted: People with visual disabilities in other fields such as employment, housing, medical aid, student and student support and dowry also benefit from welfare services and the deputy of public participation.

Referring to the Comprehensive Law for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, he said: According to Article 11, Clause "T" of this law and its executive regulations, 30% of the telephone organizational posts of the devices, government companies and public institutions are reserved for blind and partially sighted people.

Vision screening of more than 52 thousand children in 1404

Gholamrezaei went on to describe the national program for the prevention of lazy eye and stated: This plan is implemented with the aim of screening and early diagnosis of amblyopia and other vision disorders in children aged three to six years, in order to prevent the occurrence and progression of vision problems with timely diagnosis and treatment in the golden age.

He explained: The screening program is done in three levels. At the first level, educators use an ichart or vision screening device to examine children in fixed or mobile bases in rural areas. Children who do not cooperate or whose screening results are suspicious are referred to an optometrist and, if necessary, more specialized examinations are performed by a doctor.

The General Director of Welfare of Qazvin Province added: Children who need glasses or eye surgery during this plan will benefit from welfare allowances if they meet the conditions.

Gholamrezaei said about the performance of this plan in 1404: In this year, 51,897 children were declared as the target population and 52,699 children were registered in the Maana system. This program was implemented with the cooperation of 24 optometrists and in the form of 57 fixed and mobile stations in the province.

He continued: During the implementation of the plan, 1,217 suspicious children were identified, 1,95 children were referred to an optometrist for examination, 169 children were diagnosed with amblyopia, and 109 children were referred to an ophthalmologist.

Continuation of the plan to prevent lazy eye in 1405

Referring to the implementation of the project this year, the General Director of Welfare of Qazvin Province stated: The target population set for 1405 is 50,447 children. This project started on May 22 and continues until the end of the year.

According to Gholamrezaei, the target community of the project includes children aged 3 to 6 in the province, including those born in the second half of 2019 and in the years 1400, 1401 and 1402.

He added: Due to the launch of the new system at the end of September, 3,000 children have been registered in the Mehana system. The project continues with the cooperation of 26 optometrists and in the form of 68 fixed and mobile stations, and so far 763 suspicious children have been identified.

Gholamrezaei also announced the determination of the tariff for screening services and said: In the meeting of the provincial committee, in the presence of the Deputy Rehabilitation, experts and project implementers, the screening tariff with the device was approved up to 130,000 Tomans and the cost of the examination with the e-chart up to 50,000 Tomans.

Referring to the statistics of children diagnosed with amblyopia in the past years, he said: In 2009, 384 children, in 2019, 291 children, in 1400, 281 children, in 1401, 289 children, in 1402, 300 children, in 1403, 298 children, and in 1404, 169 children were diagnosed with amblyopia.

The General Director of Welfare of Qazvin Province emphasized: Timely intervention and early diagnosis can prevent the development of visual impairment and the occurrence of blindness or low vision in adulthood.

Providing community-based rehabilitation services

In the end, Gholamrezaei said, referring to community-based rehabilitation services (CBR) for blind and partially sighted people: In this program, rehabilitation tools such as wristwatches, slates and pens, smart Quran teachers, white canes, voice recorders, voice recorders, calculators, magnifiers, chess for the blind and math educational tools are distributed.

He added: Services such as working capital allowance, commodity basket, self-employment insurance, entertainment and sports competitions, special programs such as White Cane Day celebration, self-employment loan, support in the field of housing and environmental improvement are also provided to eligible people within the framework of this program.