Operation Eyesight Universal(OEU), a Canada based International Developmentorganisation dedicated to eliminate avoidable blindness, has plans to spend fourmillion dollars in India this year for sight restoration and blindnessprevention activities. Ofthis, two million dollars would be distributed as aid to the Little FlowerHospital at nearby Angamally in Kerala to upgrade its existing facilities andtheir secondary hospital at Koonammavu and set up five vision centres, PatFerguson, President and CEO of the organisation, said today. Ferguson and OEU ViceChairman, Raju Paul, are currently in Kochi to take part in a two-day workshopof the organisation's partners in India. OEU has 17 hospital partnersin India, including the Little Flower hospital and Siliguri Greater Lions EyeHospital at Siliguri in West Bengal Four hospitals in kerala arebeing supported by OEU. Last year, the Little Flower hospital had screened175,848 outpatients and performed 16,670 surgeries.The Siliguri hospital alsocaters to the districts of Darjeeling and New Jalpaiguri, parts of Sikkim,Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, Lalitha Raghuram, Country Director-India, OEU,said. Last year,60,000 eyesurgeries were performed in India by the organisation, shesaid. OEU has presence inPakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana and Rwanda and through its programmeshas treated more than 35 million people worldwide, Ferguson said. According to the organisation,8.5 per cent of the people in India are visually impaired. Out of this, 25 per cent ofthe blindness can be prevented or treated. Unemployment rates among the blindhave been estimated at 90 per cent and closer to 100 per cent in rural areas,Linda, Vice President, Overseas operations, said.