Sompeta to Sinazongwe50 years of commitment

to eliminating avoidable blindness

Dr. Santosh MosesAssistant Director – Eye Health

Operation Eyesight Universal

Beginnings

Inspired by Dr. Ben Gullison, a Canadian doctor

Founded in 1963 by Art Jenkyns, a Calgary businessman

First program partner: Arogyavaram Eye Hospital, Andhra Pradesh

Original focus: cataract elimination in developing countries

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Operation Eyesight Universal

BEN GULLISON

ART JENKYNS

Today’s focus

Building health systems

Addressing root causes of blindness

Promoting people’s participation

Ensuring quality and sustainability

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Operation Eyesight UniversalWELL DRILLING, SINAZONGWE

Places of great need, but also where we can make the greatest difference;

…where we can address the root causes of avoidable blindness

…where governments show a concern for and commitment to improving the health of their citizens

India and Africa

Hospital based community eye health

Building the capacity of hospital partners

Training and professional development

SAFE strategy to address trachoma

Our priority initiatives

Success is a journey, not the destination

Hospital-based community eye Health projects in India

• support the communities to eliminate avoidable blindness from within

Water and sanitation projects in Africa

• going beyond winning the fight against trachoma

Success along the way

Arogyavaram Eye HospitalSompeta, Andhra Pradesh, India

Partnership since 1963

Operationally sustainable

Screens over 65,000 and treats over 10,000 annually

Surgical conversion rate of 85%

Spectacle conversion rate of 90%

Cluster-based plans to eliminate avoidable blindness from 3 blocks in the next 2 years

Today

31 similar projects in India

Sinazongwe Trachoma Project 80% of households struggle with poor

sanitation and lack of clean water Current trachoma reduction project

employs the full SAFE strategy OE has provided 60 wells, government of

Zambia contributes drilling, equipping and monitoring expertise

Villagers maintain the wells once operational

Latrine coverage improved from 17% to 33%

Benefits of abundant clean water go beyond eye health

Today

● Sinazongwe

Strengthen linkages between primary eye care and primary health care services

Improve surgical outcomes to meet international standards

Support hospitals to become financially sustainable

Strengthen people’s participation and promote effective and enduring relationships between hospitals and target communities

Leading to: Reduction in avoidable blindness Improvements in overall health of communities

The way forward

Thank you