Action today to prevent disability tomorrow

In October 1983, India launched a National Plan of Action Against Avoidable Disablement, under the programme Impact India. This National Plan has two aims :

• to initiate, augment and intensify action against those causes of massively prevalent disablement against which there exists a potential for prevention and control, which can be delivered through on-going health and development programmes

• to treat an estimated 15 million people who are disabled by curable blindness, deafness and physical handicaps, by restoring sight, hearing and mobility, as well as taking any possible action to prevent and mitigate mental impairment.  

These aims are to be achieved through the application of available appropriate technology and at an acceptable level of cost effectiveness.

The following disabilities in particular was the main thrust area of  Impact India at the primary health care level :

Primary prevention :

• Elimination of poliomyelitis by immunization
• Prevention of blinding malnutrition  by Vitamin A supplementation
• Prevention of childhood disability through improved system for the delivery of community health, nutrition and maternal and child care including family welfare
• Prevention of accidents through intensified community-level education on safety procedures, effective enforcement of legislative measures and organisation of facilities for emergency management

Secondary prevention :

• Restoration of sight to cataract patients with curable blindness
• Restoration of mobility to physically handicapped people
• Restoration of hearing to the deaf, and
• Correction of clefts and other disabilities

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