Ophthalmologists, researchers and health activists on Sunday said that diabetes was responsible for a sharp increase in preventable blindness in Bangladesh, as cases of diabetic retinopathy surged due to poor screening, lack of awareness and limited treatment facilities.
The warning came at a discussion titled 鈥楤ridging Policy, Task Shifting and Innovation: Tackling Diabetic Retinopathy鈥� at a hotel in the city to mark the World Retina Day 2025.
The National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital and the Roche Bangladesh jointly organised the event.
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina, causing them to swell and leak or close altogether, cutting off blood flow. Left untreated, the condition can lead to irreversible blindness.
NIOH director Professor Md Zan E Alam Mridha said that the institute had once operated 200 vision centres across the country to treat common eye diseases and referred patients with complex conditions.
鈥楧ue to a funding crisis, these centres are no longer functioning properly,鈥� he said.
NIOH associate professor Md Mezbahul Alam noted that, of the six vitreoretinal surgery machines in the country, only one remains operational despite overwhelming demand.
鈥楾his shows the gap between need and capacity. Facilities must be expanded urgently,鈥� he said.
Speakers stressed that diabetic retinopathy is closely linked with the growing diabetes burden in Bangladesh, now recognised as a major public health concern.
Despite this, they said, detection and treatment remain inadequate due to gaps in awareness campaigns, screening programmes, health system preparedness and coordination between government and non-government actors.
They pointed out that diabetic retinopathy had become one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in the country, but the issue had been poorly addressed for years.
According to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, around 1.85 million adults in Bangladesh, out of an estimated 13 million people with diabetes, were living with diabetic retinopathy in 2018.
Experts said that between one in three and one in ten diabetic patients in Bangladesh suffer from the progressive eye disease.
The speakers stressed the need for stronger national policy interventions, wider access to diagnostic equipment, increased specialist training and expansion of public鈥損rivate partnerships to tackle the crisis.
Moderated by NIOH assistant professor and academic coordinator Zakia Sultana Neela, the discussion was addressed, among others, by Ophthalmological Society of Bangladesh general secretary Professor Md Zinnu Rain Newton, Bangladesh Vitreo Retina Society secretary general Muhammad Moniruzzaman, Bangladesh Endocrine Society secretary general Shahjasa Selim, Sightsavers Bangladesh country director Amrita Rejina Rozario, and Good People International project manager Minhaj Ahamed.