Eye Health Hero: Anuja Desai

The pandemic led to many individuals working from home, with their eye health at stake because of sitting on the screen constantly. The same happens with the children as they keep attending online classes without any break. Additionally, patients with any chronic diseases are at a higher risk of developing diseases of the eyes and mucormycosis after recovering from COVID-19, aggravating the worsening of eye health.

With all these concerns, Dr Anuja Desai and her Department of Ophthalmology started conducting awareness in Urban and especially Rural areas for eye check-up to promote the importance of healthy eyes. Dr Anuja and her team have helped all classes of patients and not just those who can afford care. Despite being a high volume centre for eye care, Dr Anuja ensures that she gives each patient enough time.

Having recently been awarded Times Power Women 2021 for her contribution in the field of Ophthalmology, her goal is to spread the importance of eye testing and ultimately reduce avoidable blindness.

“In a developing country like India, where affordable healthcare is a real-time crisis, I am fortunate enough to reach out to thousands of people across all age groups who are tied down economically and cannot access quality eye care. I love that I am easily accessible to the masses via social media, wherein I routinely promote eye health awareness. By providing quality eye care at subsidised rates and frequently organising camps, I am happy to see patients from even the lower socio-economic background reach out to me for a routine eye checkup. As a doctor, I am aware of my limitations when treating a disease, but it gives me immense pleasure even if I can give a new vision to a single soul.”

– Dr Anuja Desai