India, Feb 04: Renowned homeopath and global healthcare leader Padmashri Dr Mukesh Batra was honoured at the House of Lords on 31st January 2026 for his pioneering contribution to integrative healthcare and his sustained efforts towards the eradication of childhood blindness.
The recognition was conferred by Lord Rami Ranger, Member of the House of Lords, and Dr V. K. Raju, eminent American ophthalmologist and global advocate for childhood blindness prevention in the presence of global leaders, diplomats and healthcare professionals including Siddarth Chaterjee , head of UN, China.
On this occasion, Dr Batra also delivered a keynote address at the House of Lords, calling for urgent global action to prevent childhood blindness and advocating for the international recognition of 31st January as World Childhood Blindness Prevention Day.
In his address, Dr Batra highlighted that over 1.4 million children worldwide are blind, with millions more suffering from avoidable visual impairment. He emphasised that the majority of childhood blindness is preventable, pointing to nutritional deficiencies -particularly Vitamin A deficiency affecting over 190 million preschool children globally – as one of the leading and most neglected causes.
“Childhood blindness is not merely a medical condition,” Dr Batra said. “It is a lifelong sentence of lost education, lost dignity, and lost opportunity — not only for the child, but for families, communities, and nations. Prevention is not optional; it is a moral responsibility.”
Dr Batra underscored the critical role of nutrition as preventive medicine, citing global public health data demonstrating that Vitamin A supplementation and proper maternal nutrition can reduce childhood blindness by up to 70 percent. He also spoke on the importance of integrative healthcare, where homeopathy complements conventional ophthalmology through immune strengthening, early intervention, and community-level care — particularly in underserved regions.
“Integrative healthcare is not ideology,” he stated. “It is pragmatism guided by compassion.”
Calling for global awareness and policy action, Dr Batra stressed that UN recognition of World Childhood Blindness Prevention Day would elevate the issue onto national health agendas, mobilise governments and NGOs, and drive investment into nutrition, maternal health, and school-based vision screening programmes.
“A world without childhood blindness is not a dream,” Dr Batra concluded. “It is a choice — a choice to prioritise prevention over neglect, and to give every child the fundamental right to see the world they are born into.”
The event marked a significant milestone in the global movement towards eliminating preventable childhood blindness and reinforced the need for coordinated international action rooted in prevention, equity, and compassionate care.