Sightsavers-supported vision centres launch in Chennai

Sightsavers India has teamed up with Standard Chartered Global Business Services to launch two new vision centres and one mobile vision centre in Chennai, southern India.

The new centres aim to increase access to quality eye health services through an integrated and strengthened approach to urban health. Standard Chartered will support the centres financially for four years.

The two vision centres are run by Sightsavers India and India Vision Institute. The aim is to identify more than 6,000 people with cataracts and refer them for surgery, screen more than 60,000 people for eye conditions, and dispense more than 8,000 pairs of spectacles over next four years.  Nearly, 2,000 people will also be screened for diabetic retinopathy.

Meanwhile, the mobile vision centre – a collaboration between Sightsavers India and Sankara Eye Hospital – is a fully fitted mobile van with a dedicated team. It offers easy mobility in dense areas, easy access to remote areas and on-the-spot advanced eye screening services. The mobile centre aims to examine nearly 30,000 people to check for refractive errors and dispense 6,000 pairs of spectacles, identify more than 4,000 patients with cataracts and screen 2,000 people for diabetic retinopathy.

Sightsavers India CEO RN Mohanty said: “The launch of these initiatives will reduce the gap between eye health needs and service delivery demand by improving access to eye care services for the underserved population.”

Standard Chartered head of sustainability Karuna Bhatia said: “The focus is on early detection of eye ailments, referral, and appropriate treatment. Through its Seeing is Believing project, Standard Chartered has been a long-standing partner of Sightsavers India, working in remote and underserved regions of the country. ”