Report from Tribun Jabar Journalist, Nazmi Abdurahman
TRIBUNJABAR.ID, BANDUNG – The number of sufferers of eye damage in school-age children is increasing, one of the causes is the excessive use of gadgets.
This was stated by the Chairman of the Indonesia Seeing the Archipelago Foundation, Motris Pamungkas, during the Indonesia Seeing Award 2023 event at the El Royale Hotel, Bandung City, Thursday (19/1/2023).
“During a pandemic there is myopia booming (nearsightedness) where the incidence of myopia is quite high for clients who are used to using gadgets starting from studying and other activities. When examined, we found many cases of myopia, some were minus seven when examined,” said Motris Pamungkas.
According to him, during the pandemic there was also an increase in the use of gadgets, especially among school children.
His party is now starting to campaign for eye health and providing free eye examinations in a number of areas.
“For many gadget users to occur in school children, our priority is for underprivileged or poor school children,” he said.
Also read: UNPAR Holds 2023 International Student Conference Again, Highlights Post-Pandemic Welfare Issues
From 2019 to 2022, his party has examined 3,200 residents in various regions and found various cases of visual impairment to the causes of the visual impairment experienced by them.
In providing free eye examination assistance, his party collaborated with a number of other agencies to provide assistance to those with mild eye disorders.
Motris is optimistic that there will be more agencies or companies willing to eradicate eye disorders.
His party also targets 3,600 residents to receive eye health services for 2023.
“We already have timeline from January to December there were 3,600 clients we examined. In the first three months there have been activities in Bandung, Indramayu and the Thousand Islands,” he said.
At the Indonesia Seeing Award 2023 event, the Indonesia Seeing Archipelago Foundation gives appreciation to companies and institutions that are considered to have contributed to alleviating the problems of eye disorders experienced by the community.
Also read: National Health Day 2022, Momentum to Rise From the Pandemic, West Java Provincial Government Hands Out Awards
“This is a gathering event as well. We hope that more relations will want to work with the Indonesia Seeing Foundation, especially in social activities. We are specifically engaged in social activities so that we need a lot of contributions from other institutions. We focus on visual impairment, especially the three areas that we prioritize urban, coastal and inland,” he said.