At the Devex UHC Pavilion, I had the opportunity to hear from global leaders who discussed these challenges and shared insights about how we can work towards achieving the goal of UHC. Many ideas were shared, and it is clear UHC will not be achieved alone; we need to build collaborative, multi-sector partnerships that bring together a range of perspectives and expertise. Our beneficiaries must be at the centre of our solutions; a human-centred approach is essential to ensure we are fully meeting the needs of the end user. Further, we need to build scalable and sustainable models that can attract private sector investment to our solutions. Most importantly, through all of this we need to ensure we leave no one behind – that means developing innovative models to reach the most underserved and marginalized communities.

Uncorrected poor vision is the world’s largest unaddressed disability, with one in three people being affected – 89 percent of which live in developing countries (Essilor). Even more alarming, this costs our global economy US$272 billion in lost productivity every single year (Essilor).

Poor vision is a public health crisis, and it is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Those who live in poverty are more susceptible to vision impairment because of lack of access to primary health services, poor hygiene and sanitary conditions, and cultural stigmas around vision correction. When a person living in poverty can properly see, they become an active, engaged member of their community, and they no longer face the burden of being shamed for their disability.

An estimated US$14 billion is required to create a world free from uncorrected refractive errors (Essilor). This sounds like a lot, but it is achievable – with commitment and action from governments, the private sector, civil society organizations and global citizens like you.

Together, we can improve the lives of millions of people by preventing blindness and restoring sight. A simple pair of eyeglasses enables individuals to return to work, provides children with the opportunity to attend and succeed at school, and increases one’s safety and well-being.

We partner with local hospitals and governments to provide quality eye care services to everyone – regardless of gender, age or ability to pay. We work to address the root causes of avoidable blindness and remove barriers to access for women and men alike. Our innovative community outreach model trains community health workers – typically women who live and work in our target communities – to conduct door-to-door eye screenings and educate families about eye health and general health topics such as prenatal care, nutrition and immunization.

Enabling individuals to reach their full potential benefits us all. We have made significant strides in addressing poor vision, but there is still much work to be done. We have an opportunity to collectively address one of the world’s largest public health challenges and improve the lives of millions while doing so.

This World Sight Day, October 10, I invite you to make a donation and join us as we transform lives – For All The World To See.

The post Universal Health Coverage: A radical idea and a basic human right appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Across India and Nepal, 15 partner hospitals marked their achievements in the elimination of avoidable blindness and raised awareness about eye health. Their biggest accomplishment? The declaration of a spectacular 281 avoidable blindness-free villages by eight hospitals. Wow!

Here’s what else they did:

• Inaugurated four Vision Centres. Two are from Fateh Bal Eye Hospital in Nepal and two from Sewa Sadan Eye Hospital Trust and the Sundarban Social Development Centre, both in India.
• Three hospitals in India conducted screening programs and dispensed eyeglasses in their project areas. They screen a total of 565 individuals, dispensed 58 pairs of prescription eyeglasses and referred 78 patients for eye surgery.
• Our partners at Sewa Sadan Eye Hospital Trust and the Vittala International Institute of Ophthalmology held rallies to increase education about eye health, which were well received.

Please take a moment and share in their warm glow of accomplishment. We wish you could have been there, but we’ll have to settle for a great big THANK YOU for making all this work possible.

The post World Sight Day? How about World Sight Week! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

On October 13, a procession of 1,500 people, led by the county governor, set out on a three-kilometre walk through Eldoret, attracting participants from nearby schools and homes along the way. By the time they reached the eye unit, a huge crowd – including representatives from Standard Chartered Bank, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and the Ministry of Health – had gathered for the grand opening ceremony.

In the week leading up to the event, the eye unit held a free eye screening camp. More than 1,000 people from the surrounding community were screened for vision problems, and 40 patients received sight-restoring cataract surgery. These numbers indicate the high demand for eye care services in the county.

About 4,800 people in the county are at risk of going blind, but thanks to our donors and our partners in Kenya, sight-saving treatment is within reach. Thank you!

For more photos, view our “World Sight Day 2016” album on Facebook.

The post Working together to provide more eye care services in Kenya appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

On October 13, 2016, we celebrated World Sight Day with our partners, colleagues, patients and donors across the globe. Our teams in India, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia and Canada planned a variety of activities to educate others about avoidable blindness and showcase this year’s World Sight Day theme, “Stronger Together.”

In India, we co-hosted celebrations in partnership with Vision 2020 India, Pushpagiri Eye Institute, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Pellucid Inc., and several government organizations. We organized a partnership seminar where a panel of six members shared their perspectives on the importance of working together to achieve our mission to eliminate avoidable blindness. Our very own Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, Global Director of Programmes, represented the INGO sector on the panel.

We declared 20 more villages in India avoidable blindness-free, bringing the total number of avoidable blindness-free villages in the country to 170. We also inaugurated three Vision Centres in the urban slums of Hyderabad. In addition, we organized a “Walk for Vision” and ran awareness messages on local radio stations.

In Ghana, we co-hosted a media briefing with Ghana Health Service. The brief focused on Vision 2020, the status of eye health in Ghana, and what Ghana Health Service and Operation Eyesight are doing together to help eliminate avoidable blindness. In addition, we worked with our partners to conduct awareness activities, eye screenings and surgeries across the 10 regions of Ghana.

With our support, the National Eye Care Coordinator held eye health discussions on two prime time television networks to educate Ghanaians on eye health. We also extended our support to a non-partner district (the urban slums in Greater Accra) where we screened 540 students at Ayalolo Cluster of Schools. An estimated six million Ghanaians were reached through all of these activities.

In Zambia, we held activities in a number of provinces. Our celebrations were held in Chawama, one of three shanty towns within the capital city of Lusaka, where we’re working to eliminate avoidable blindness through Standard Chartered Bank’s Seeing is Believing program.

On World Sight Day, 440 children, women and men were screened by our partners, Chainama College of Health Sciences and University Teaching Hospital. In addition, we hosted a speaking engagement event, which received news coverage across the country.

In Kenya, we officially opened the doors to Huruma Sub-County Hospital Eye Unit in Uasin Gishu County, Eldoret. The Eye Unit was built by Operation Eyesight (through Standard Chartered Bank’s Seeing is Believing program) and the county government. We equipped the eye unit and are currently supporting the training of an ophthalmic nurse and ophthalmic clinical officer. We were honoured to have the governor of Uasin Gishu County lead our World Sight Day procession to the new eye unit.

In Canada, our friends at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters kicked off a coffee campaign in support of Operation Eyesight. For one month starting on World Sight Day, $5 from every bag of Kiruga (Kenya) coffee sold at their Calgary locations will be donated our Kenya programs. We’re so grateful for Phil and Sebastian’s support!

We were honoured to have so many partners and friends – from governments, corporations, non-profit organizations and the eye health sector – join us for our World Sight Day celebrations. We know that when it comes to the fight against avoidable blindness, we truly are stronger together!

To view more photos, check out our Facebook album.

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