In addition to being a full-time mom, Shakuntala also works as an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) with the Government of India, providing healthcare and referrals for others in her community of Gadhara Village.  

For the past eight years, she has provided advice to women regarding their pregnancies, referring several women each month to local health facilities. She has also supported home-based newborn care and vaccinations for children in her community.  

Thanks to primary eye care training offered by Operation Eyesight in August 2022, Shakuntala can also identify common eye conditions and provide referral for those experiencing eye health issues. 

“I got to learn a lot about eye health care,” she explains. “The training program has built my skills in measuring the vision of a person. Now I screen the eyesight of my community members with these simple techniques and refer them to Health and Wellness Centres.” 

Shankuntala performs basic vision tests and identifies symptoms of conditions like cataracts, refractive error and pterygium – a growth on the eye’s conjunctiva. Armed with the knowledge and skills she gained both during her ASHA training and additional eye care training, she is able to address many of the determinants of health, including some of the root causes of avoidable blindness such as vitamin A deficiency and poor hygiene.   

One of the key recommendations of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2019 World Report on Vision is to implement Integrated People-centered Eye Care (IPEC), as it will play a critical role in addressing the global eye health crisis. ‘Integrated’ eye care is care that is part of the local health system. This often requires partnership with local hospitals and often means utilizing local health resources, personnel and infrastructure. ‘People-centred’ means focusing on the needs, preferences and values of individuals and communities. 

IPEC has been a core component of Operation Eyesight’s approach for decades, because we focus on the unique needs of individuals and communities, as well as partner with local governments and health programs. In India, this includes opening local vision centres or vision points and recruiting local health workers who are predominantly women to conduct door-to-door screenings.  

“Trainings give health care staff in a community the skills and knowledge they need to make eye health care a standard part of the care they provide. Ultimately, this helps make eye care both accessible and sustainable for a community long-term,” explains Dr. Troy Cunningham, our Country Director for India. “Training local health workers like Shakuntala is a key part of that.” 

Operation Eyesight has been working closely with the state governments in both Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to establish vision care facilities within already-existing government health centres, such as Health and Wellness Centres. Additionally, we are providing training for ASHAs and other healthcare providers. This has helped make eye health care services available to the most underserved populations. 

“Our approach helps ensure that we leave no one behind, especially girls and women, which translates into empowered communities that can care for their own health,” Troy adds. “This work is so exciting because it aligns with the transformative impact on India’s health system.” 

For Shakuntala, it has enabled her to cater services to the unique needs of the patients and families she serves in her own community.  

To learn more about our partnership with the Government of India, read this success story. 

To donate to Operation Eyesight India and help provide training for more health workers like Shakuntala, click here.   

With files from Subhadip Bhattacharya, Head, Resource Mobilization.

The post Building on the strengths of local, government health workers appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Whether it’s time to connect with family and friends, or a celebration of prosperity, knowledge and wisdom, Diwali is also a reminder to be a light for others this holiday season.  

For six-year-old Misba from West Bengal, vision loss was quickly extinguishing her own light. Her father Mahabul and mother Ruku say their usually happy daughter often became irritated during play and at school, and she was unable to read a book without great difficulty.  

Sadly, financial hardship prevented her parents from seeking help for their daughter. 

When an Operation Eyesight Universal health worker knocked on the family’s door, it was a turning point in the little girl’s life. After screening Misba’s eyes, the health worker diagnosed Misba with myopia – better known as near-sightedness. She was referred to our local vision centre and to our partner Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital, where she received an eye exam and a pair of corrective spectacles. 

With her vision restored, Misba has returned to her happy and active self. Her parents say they are relieved to see their daughter smiling and able to continue her studies.  

They say they are grateful for the care she received at their local vision centre and for the health worker doing door-to-door eye health screening in their community.  

For children like Misba, the lights of Diwali have taken on a whole new meaning.  

Vision loss: a nation-wide problem 

Today, India is home to 21 per cent of the world’s blind population at 22 per cent of the those with visual impairment globally. While 90 per cent of vision loss is preventable, tragically many people country-wide are unable to seek care due to geographic and financial limitations.  

For nearly 60 years, Operation Eyesight has been partnering with India’s communities to bring the gift of sight to those who need it most. Today, we are working with communities across 17 states. With the help of our 35 partner hospitals and 145 local vision centres, we are declaring entire villages free of avoidable blindness, preventing vision loss and helping children like Misba thrive.

Together, we are making avoidable blindness a thing of the past in India.  

“Whether it’s a simple pair of spectacles or a more complex eye surgery, we believe everyone has the right to affordable, quality eye health services,” explains Dr. Troy Cunningham, Operation Eyesight’s Country Director in India. 
 
For a child, restored vision means a chance to go to school, play and make friends. For a parent, it’s a chance to provide and care for their family. For senior citizens, the gift of sight means independence and staying connected to their communities. 

How do we do it? Across the country, we are training health workers in their own communities, offering free door-to-door screenings and opening local vision centres.  

“All of this is possible thanks to the generous support of our donors and partners,” Dr. Cunningham adds. “When you make a donation to Operation Eyesight, you are helping us bring quality, accessible and affordable eye care to people’s doorsteps.”  

This Diwali, please bring the light of sight to someone in need and join us in our mission to prevent blindness and restore sight – For All The World To See.  

The post Share the light of sight this Diwali appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Failing vision from the age of three meant the gradual loss of sight in her right eye. Aaliya’s family took her to several hospitals seeking treatment, but these efforts were in vain; Aaliya could get neither diagnosis nor treatment.  

It wasn’t until an Operation Eyesight community health worker met the family during a door-to-door screening that Aaliya was directed to one of our local vision centres, where she was diagnosed with a squint. Also called a strabismus, this condition causes the eyes to point in different directions. If not treated early enough in life, squints can cause vision to be blurry or doubled and can impact how eyesight develops during childhood. 

Aaliya was referred to our partner hospital, Alakh Nayan Mandir, for further treatment. She received prescription eyeglasses and over a number of months, received patching on alternate eyes to treat her eye condition. Doctors told her family that without proper and timely treatment, Aaliyah would have lost her vision. 

“We never expected such an improvement in her vision,” says Aaliya’s father, Yusuf. “We are delighted.” 

By partnering with hospitals and establishing a local presence in communities, we are strengthening India’s health system and making eye health care a standard part of primary health care. This approach allows us to bring quality eye care to patients like Aaliya, who were previously unable to access these services, as well as connect them with their local health system. 

Sustainable impact

In the last six years, we have established more than 140 vision centres across India that provide eye exams, dispense prescription eyeglasses and refer patients to hospital for specialized treatment if needed. These self-funding facilities are established in accessible locations and staffed by trained eye health personnel.  
 
Blindness and visual impairment are major public health issues in India, which is home to more than 20 per cent of those who are blind or visually impaired worldwide. The good news is 90 per cent of blindness and visual impairment is treatable or preventable.  

Through the support of our donors and partners, in 2021 we referred nearly 150,000 patients for sight-saving surgery in India and provided nearly 160,000 pairs of prescription eyeglasses to patients who would not otherwise be able to afford them. 

“A key part of our success is investment in infrastructure and training,” explains Troy Cunningham, our Country Director for India. “By training staff to deliver primary eye care and equipping facilities with the tools they need, we are ensuring the sustainability of our impact, long-term. We believe this approach can be replicated in states across India and are working with state governments to achieve this.

Building local expertise

We also recruit and train hundreds of female community health workers, who who provide door-to-door eye health screening in target communities. These local eye health champions identify patients requiring care or referral to hospital. They also provide health counselling and education regarding various health issues, including maternal and child health.  

Remaining present in the community this way allows us to deliver eye health care that is truly integrated, because it’s eye care that is preventive, provides treatment and follow-up care for all eye conditions. This integrated approach to eye care allows us to focus on the individual needs of patients and families.  

Delivering on the UN’s mandate

By focusing on gender equality, promoting health and access to health services and bringing clean water and sanitation, we are also helping end poverty and the root causes of blindness. Together, we are helping achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). 

The Government of India’s “Ayush Bharat” program aims to provide free access to healthcare to 500 million people nation-wide. While eye care is included in this program, many gaps still exist which prevent many Indians from accessing quality eye care.  

By supporting policy development on eye health, establishing referral pathways, training staff and establishing facilities, Operation Eyesight is playing a key role in shaping India’s health system. Thanks to our partnership with state governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, our primary eye care program is making eye care a key part of local primary health care in these regions.  

“We are focused on strengthening existing health systems as well as equipping communities to look after their own eye health long-term,” explains our Global Director of International Programmes Vikas Gora.  
 
“Eye care is primary care – thanks to our donors and partners who make our work possible, we are making this a reality in India.”  

Donate today and become part of our work in India.

The post Eye health care, just in time appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Over the course of the four-year study, the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in the community was reduced by nearly 62 per cent.   

It’s confirmation that Operation Eyesight’s focus on strengthening local health systems and empowering communities to look after their own eye health is not only effective, but also sustainable. 

“We have known for some time that the presence of vision centres in a community, supported by door-to-door outreach, has a measurable impact on health outcomes for patients and families,” explains Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, our President & CEO and co-author of the study.  

“Data like this only helps us become more effective in achieving our mission of preventing blindness and restoring sight.” 

The study looked at approximately 44,000 people living in an urban slum area in Pune, Maharashtra, India, who were surveyed at a four-year interval by local health workers in the community. Patients identified as having vision loss were referred to Operation Eyesight’s local vision centre partner for more comprehensive examination and treatment if necessary.  

Vision centres also have referral pathways in place for patients who require referral to hospital for surgery or additional treatment.

Over the course of the four-year study, led by Community for Eye Care Foundation, Pune and our team in in India, 8,211 patients were examined at the local vision centre. During this time, the prevalence of blindness due to conditions such as cataracts decreased from 0.25 per cent to 0.1 per cent over four years, and visual impairment decreased from 0.16 per cent to 0.05 per cent.  

Building a lasting presence in the community 

Vision centres are permanent facilities, established in strategic locations within a project area and staffed by trained eye health personnel. In addition to linking the community with the hospital, vision centres also provide eye exams, dispense prescription eyeglasses and refer patients for specialized treatment if needed. Vision centres are critical hubs for communities that do not have access to the most basic of eye healthcare, either due to economic or geographic factors.  

“By providing access to prescription eyeglasses, eye health screening and referral to hospital, the decrease in rates of visual impairment and blindness in this community can be attributed to the presence of the local vision centre,” explains Bhoosnurmath.   

Operation Eyesight’s focus on involving the community at every stage of a project has ensured the sustainability of our vision centres. This includes ensuring that demand is in place for the vision centre’s services and that a flow of revenue will fund the provision of services long-term.    

Operation Eyesight has established 160+ new vision centres across India. Most vision centres become self-funding within six months of operation.

Recruiting eye health champions 

“The key to the success of vision centres is our ability to recruit local community health workers who provide door-to-door eye health screening,” says Soumya Moosa, one of our Program Managers in India and co-author of the study.    

Moosa says this type of grassroots outreach in the community is particularly beneficial to health outcomes for women. 

“The study found that women continue to have a higher prevalence of blindness and are less likely to seek care in low-income communities like the one surveyed. This is why the counselling by local female health workers is so pivotal to the project’s success.”

To learn more about our work in India, visit operationeyesightindia.org.

The post Vision centres help patient outcomes: study appeared first on Operation Eyesight.