A scientific-practical conference on ophthalmology has opened in Tashkent, UzA reported. Specialists from across the CIS, US, UK, Germany, Finland and India are participating in the forum.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Healthcare, Tashkent Institute for the Development of Doctors, Republican Ophthalmology Association and the Republican Ophthalmology Clinic Hospital.

First Deputy Minister of Healthcare of Uzbekistan A. Hojibaev told conference participants about the large-scale reforms taking place in the healthcare sector and social life of Uzbekistan, and the importance attributed to strengthening the population’s health status and protection of maternity and childhood.

Thanks to the consistent implementation of tasks outlined in the Presidential Decree on Reforms in the Healthcare System, the scale of reforms to provide high quality and qualified medical aid to the population has been further expanded.

Uzbek scientists are achieving notable results in the timely diagnosing, prevention and treatment of diseases. As a result of studies conducted in this area, unique methods of treatment, such as keratoplastics, xenotransplantation, vitreoretinal surgery have been integrated in practice.

This sort of scientific improvements, accompanied by improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases serves as an important factor in the reduction of disabilities, and return of people with disabilities to normal life.

In this regard, positive results are being received from the close contacts with the leading scientific centres of the world and reputed clinics. An interregional scientific-technical complex of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation "Eye micro-surgery named after Academician Fedorov" is one of them. Uzbek medical workers often visit the centre to share experience, and Russian scientists pay return visits to Uzbekistan.

Forum hosts noted that in the ophthalmology sphere in Uzbekistan substantial improvements have been achieved with regard to vitreoretinal surgery, which has evoked the interest of ophthalmologists of Central Asia.

On the first day of the conference, reports were delivered concerning an urgent regional problem, one of the main reasons for poor sight and blindness – glaucoma and cataract. The experts from different countries shared their opinions on the rational utilization of world scientific and technological achievements in this sphere.