Four years ago, Essilor, the market leader in ophthalmic optics with the mission to improve lives by improving sight, created dedicated teams to reach the 2.5 billion people across the globe who don’t have access to the vision correction they need. Since then, Essilor has launched and scaled-up new inclusive business models and deployed many non-profit initiatives to improve access to vision care in developing (and developed) nations.
Expanding children’s access to eye health services
Through a global coalition of over 50 multi-sector partners co-founded by the Brien Holden Vision Institute and Essilor’s strategic giving fund Vision For Life in 2016, Our Children’s Vision was born to fulfill the idea that by mobilizing the resources, networks and know-how of a range of partners, from vision care providers, governments and civil societies to not-for-profit organizations, more could be done to benefit the lives of millions of children across the world. Putting collaboration into action, its partners have enabled the screening of 10 million children in one year, improving health and learning potential. Beyond impacting individual lives, Our Children’s Vision also strives to bring long-lasting change through policies impacting on local, regional, or national levels. Guidelines on integrating school eye health programs into general health programs were published in 2016. Already governments in Cambodia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe have approved policies putting vision health within national school health programs.
“Our Children’s Vision is driven by partners who have long been active in visual health and who bring their experience, expertise, and desire to have a long-term impact,” said Kovin Naidoo, CEO of Brien Holden Vision Institute and Our Children’s Vision Campaign Director.
Investing to improve children’s vision
Essilor Vision Foundation and Vision For Life have expanded range of initiatives into 20 countries, reaching 600,000 children in 2016. These countries include India, Africa, Morocco, Laos, and Myanmar, among others. The Foundation was able to conduct vision care at medical health camps involving volunteer doctors, dentists, physicians, and optometrists. Many affected individuals benefited from eye tests and corrective glasses or sunglasses, including many older villagers for whom preserving visual health is vital for their continuing quality of life.
Sources:
Essilor SeeChange
Our Children’s Vision
