A royal visit
Sightsavers was proud to play host to the Countess of Wessex, who visited our projects in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Countess, in her capacity as Patron of VISION2020: The Right to Sight (the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness) was a guest of Standard Chartered Bank and Sightsavers.
Over the course of three days she witnessed the progress that is being made in Dhaka with regards to delivering eye care services to some of the poorest communities in the city.
She visited Islamia Eye Hospital, our partner organisation, where she met 50 year old Chanchala, a garment work from Dhaka. Chanchala was recovering from a sight-restoring cataract operation the previous day. The Countess also visited an eye care screening camp in the underprivileged community of Mohammadpur, Dhaka. The clinic provides screening services to identify easily preventable or treatable eye conditions such as conjunctivitis or cataract.
Advocating for eye care
During the visit the Countess also took part in important advocacy activities to bring attention to the continued need for investment in eye care in Bangladesh. This included meeting the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and various leading representatives from international eye care agencies operating in Bangladesh.
The trip represents the continuation of the successful partnership between Sightsavers and Standard Chartered Bank. Through its community investment programme, Seeing is Believing, Standard Chartered has continued its commitment to eye care in Bangladesh by investing USD one million over five years in Sightsavers’ work in Dhaka.
The Countess’ visit has helped Sightsavers raise awareness about the challenges to providing eye care in Bangladesh. An estimated 750,000 people are blind in the country yet 80% of all blindness is due to cataract which can be treated easily and cost-effectively. There are 150,000 new cataract cases each year, creating a huge backlog of untreated cases which Sightsavers, Seeing is Believing and partners are working to address.
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