Sightsavers partners with clothing manufacturer Gildan Activewear to improve eye health in Bangladesh

Sightsavers is teaming up with Gildan Activewear to deliver eye care in local communities where it owns and operates vertically integrated manufacturing facilities.

Gildan Activewear Inc. will contribute US $100,000 per year to fund the two-year programme in Bangladesh, which aims to carry out 15,000 eye tests, distribute 8,000 spectacles, treat more than 12,000 people with refractive error and perform 1,000 cataract operations.

The Canadian apparel manufacturer has two factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Eye screening camps will be set up in two areas of Dhaka, where basic treatment will be given to local communities. In schools, teachers and students, known as ‘Little Doctors’, will carry out basic eye tests on pupils to ensure they are referred for any eye care they need.

The programme will also work with local hospitals and organisations of people with disabilities to ensure the programme is inclusive and sustainable for the future.

Gildan employees will be trained to carry out eye tests on their colleagues, who will be referred for further assessment, eye surgery or given medicine or spectacles where needed.

Claudia Sandoval, Gildan Activewear’s vice-president of global social compliance and environmental affairs, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Sightsavers to help expand access to timely, essential care for workers, their families and the surrounding community in Dhaka. Caring for communities in the areas where we operate has always been a focus for Gildan and one of the key pillars of our Next Generation Sustainability strategy.”