Mata Minus Cases Of School Children Rise Sharply After The Pandemic, Former Minister Of Health Nila Moeloek: This Is Worrying

JAKARTA - Former Indonesian Health Minister Nila Djuwita Moeloek revealed the results of a study showing a significant increase in cases of visual impairment in elementary school children after the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, children learn a lot from home and use gadgets for a long time. This habit causes children to see more close distances, which has an impact on the growth of the eyepieces to become longer or known as minus eyes," Nila said in a public trial activity for the innovation of eye and soul checks for children in Jakarta, Antara, Thursday, October 9.

The shape of the eyeball is ideally perfectly round with a diameter of about 22 millimeters. However, a number of factors such as limited light in the study room, small eye cavity structure, and excessive proximity viewing habits can turn the shape of the eye ball into lonjong.

Elongated eye bars cause light not to fall right on the eye nerve so that vision becomes blurred. If not handled, this condition can worsen children's learning skills," he said.

Research conducted with the Refraction Disorder Management Unit (SPGR) shows that about 40 percent of elementary school children in Jakarta experience visual impairments, up sharply from the previous figure which was only 13'15 percent.

"This condition is worrying because it affects children's ability to learn. Many children cannot see the whiteboard clearly and are ultimately considered not to be focused or naughty in class," Nila said.

He added that giving glasses proved to improve the academic achievement of children who had visual problems. "After being given glasses, they can study comfortably and the report card value increases," he said.

Nila hopes that these findings will be a concern for the government, teachers, and parents to be more concerned about the health of their children's eyes from an early age. He also emphasized the importance of routine eye examinations in schools to prevent a decline in the quality of human resources in the future.