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Special Education

Notes (vi) Human resources and infrastructure: Despite efforts to strengthen human resources for eye
health, a crucial shortage of eye-care personnel persists in many low-income countries. Many
countries in the African Region, for instance, have less than one ophthalmologist per million
inhabitants. In addition, the existing human resources are often concentrated in larger urban
agglomerations, leaving the rural areas with a poor or nonexistent service. Furthermore, well-
trained personnel leave low-paid positions in many of the public and university health-care
establishments, seeking work in the domestic private health-care sector or even work
opportunities abroad. It is thus the poorest areas of low-income countries that are most seriously
disadvantaged by a suboptimal workforce beset by shortages, low productivity and uneven
distribution.
Although recent technological developments in eye care have resulted in advanced methods of
diagnostics and treatment, the cost of properly equipping a secondary and/or tertiary eye-care
centre is prohibitive for many low-income countries.
Urgent action is required within countries to train more eye-health personnel and redress the
distribution of the available workforce between urban and rural areas.

By October 2008, 118 Member States had reported the establishment of a national
committee.

Self Assessment

1. Fill in the blanks:
(i) Country co-operation strategies reflect the agreed joint agenda between health ministries
and ........................ .
(ii) Lack of adequate resources for preventing .............................. at the country level is a major
impediment.
(iii) A functional ................ is a prerequisite for developing the national blind prevention plan.
(iv) WHO's strategy for the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment is based on
..................... core elements.
(v) It is necessary to establish national committees and programmes for eye health and
blindness ......................... .
(vi) By October 2008, ..................... member states have held national or sub-national vision 2020
workshops to introduce WHO's strategies for eye health.
(vii) ....................... have united and substantially strengthened the key international stakeholders.
9.2 Teaching Strategies for Visually Impaired Children

The use of explicit rules is very important for managing a classroom where visually impaired students
are present. When presenting students with rules for the first time, make sure that they are clearly
established and students are given a chance to discuss the rules and ask any questions that they may
have. It is also imperative to describe the classroom to visually impaired students so that they are
well aware of where objects such as desks, computers, and work collection bins are located. It might
also be necessary to periodically review the rules and also reward students with such things as
praise or free homework passes when they are observed adhering to them.
(i) Teaching by Personal Interaction: Personal interactions are important for effective teaching of
visually impaired students because it allows you as the teacher to learn the specific habits and
capabilities of each student. The first step in creating meaningful personal interactions is to
create a routine. Make students aware of the best times for talking and participating in group or
individual discussions.

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