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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg |
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Question No: 267 Question By:
Mr Zainudin Nordin, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC |
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Question No: 267 |
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Question By: Mr Zainudin Nordin, MP for
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC |
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To ask the Minister for Health |
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(a) whether myopia is on the rise among
young and adult Singaporeans; |
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(b) if so, what are his Ministry¡¯s plans to
address this; and |
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(c) whether his Ministry will consider
working with childcare and pre- school providers to introduce preventive
measures. |
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Reply from MOH, 16 Jul 2007 |
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Myopia is a major public health
problem here. The prevalence rate seems to have stabilised in the
last 5 years, but it is high in absolute terms. |
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About 30 % of our Primary 1 students
and 2 in 3 Primary 6 students have myopia. By the time they are
18, 80% of them are myopic. |
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Myopia usually develops and progresses
in childhood, but stabilises when one enters adulthood. Our
preventive efforts therefore focus on children. |
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In 2001, the Health Promotion Board (HPB)
spearheaded the National Myopia Prevention Programme, in
partnership with MOE and MCYS. |
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The aim is to delay the onset and
reduce the progression of myopia in children. |
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The prevention strategies include
public education targeted at parents, teachers and children to
inculcate good eye care habits such as adopting correct posture
when reading, ensuring adequate lighting and having regular
outdoor activity. |
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We also introduced a vision screening
programme in primary and secondary schools and a spectacles fund
for needy children. |
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HPB works closely with kindergartens
and childcare centres to extend vision screening to pre-schoolers.
The aim is to identify children with early myopia and ¡°lazy eye¡± (ambylopia). |
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About 1 in 7 pre-schoolers has
defective vision. They are referred to refraction clinics in our
polyclinics for further assessment and management. For children
with ¡°lazy eye¡± condition, early treatment can prevent the
development of functional blindness. |
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While we will press on with our
preventive efforts, we recognise that bringing down myopia rates
will not be easy. Thus far, we are not aware of any country that
has succeeded in reducing its myopia prevalence rate. |
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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg News Release 16
Jul 2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Thu 19 July 2007
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