Dr. Harper joined Sightsavers as CEO in 2005, following a career in the oil and gas sector, bringing with her fresh perspectives on leadership, partnership and innovation.

Over the past two decades, she has helped grow the already-successful organization to be synonymous with eye health across the development sector. Her career is a testament to how courageous leadership transcends industries and can elevate an organization to tackle big challenges.

With a PhD in energy studies from the University of Cambridge, her approach to leadership centres on leveraging local strengths and partnerships.

Operation Eyesight is proud to partner with Sightsavers on projects in Africa, and together with others we have helped pioneer the SAFE strategy to eliminate blinding trachoma, which is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the region.

I caught up with Dr. Harper in Mexico City in June 2024, at the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’ 2030 IN SIGHT LIVE event, where she offered valuable insights on women leaders and the future of leadership in the global eye health space.

What role do women leaders play when it comes to making and leading global change, like achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, for example?

In my experience, particularly in the global eye health sector, there are quite a lot of people at the senior levels who are women, and it’s pretty good in terms of gender balance. Many leaders of some of the big International NGOs, such as Helen Keller International and the Cure Blindness Project, have been women. 

What I have found more interesting are some of the challenges women face at the country level.

In meeting with women’s networks, we’ve realized that a lot of the challenges have not been in the actual workplace itself; but women trying to be leaders have faced pressures due to cultural expectations. In Asia, some women I spoke with have family who say to them, “How can you travel? How can you go on your own to a hotel? You know, that’s not decent.” Or, they may be expected to look after the home rather than pursue a career.

Women have shared with me that this is a big challenge; whereas at the global level, I think the gender mix of leaders is pretty equal.

Having worked across industries, have you ever found that as a woman you had to work harder or speak louder in order to be heard?

Well, I’ve always felt very loud, so I think that’s just kind of me anyway.

When I was getting my job with Sightsavers, I was coming from the private sector of oil and gas, and I thought, “Why are they going to want me? I haven’t got eye health experience. I haven’t got development or even charity experience.” So, I needed to stand out.

And so, I was very loud – I wore a bright blue silk jacket with huge earrings, and I was, in England you call them “Marmite candidates.” Half the trustees loved me, and half the trustees thought, “My, she’s loud.”

That was more about trying to be convincing in an environment where I thought I wasn’t the natural player, more than because I was a woman.

Coming from an oil and gas background, are there skills or experiences that have served you well in your role leading Sightsavers?

I think everybody assumes it’s hugely different, but it’s stunningly similar. You’re running an organization, so that means that it’s all about managing people. And people are people, you know. They have similar motivations – they want to do a really good job, they want intellectual stimulation, they want to feel they matter – and so, that was the same.

Actually, when you look at project management, there are a lot of similar skills in managing a project in oil and gas and managing an INGO program. Fundraising is basically sales and marketing, building relations and making people feel good that they’ve done something. It’s like selling anything; it’s very similar skills. Then of course, you’ve got financial management, IT and so on; it’s the same.

For me, the skills that I learned running an organization, working with people, were very translatable across industries. There are a few differences; people care more about salaries, or money, in the corporate world, while I found that in INGOs, people care more about status, or job titles. You still have all kinds of interesting challenges.

What do you think the development sector could learn from the private sector?

The biggest contrast I found between the two sectors was the speed of action. When I came to Sightsavers, I found the NGO sector was very slow and very consensus-driven, so they wouldn’t make decisions until they had consulted with everyone and had everyone in agreement. Sometimes that led to a solution that was perhaps not as bold as it could be, to avoid controversy.

Whereas the corporate sector often has a decisive, get-things-done, move-ahead approach. Sometimes, of course, that means the corporate sector does leave people behind, because that approach doesn’t depend on building consensus.

This is the difference that really struck me when I came into the sector, and this is where the two sectors can learn from each other.

What role do you think the private sector can play in achieving 2030 IN SIGHT?

The private sector has a huge role to play in 2030 IN SIGHT, particularly in the refractive error side, where the private sector’s the big player in the provision of eyeglasses. There is a lot of potential for growth in this area in middle-income countries. For me, this is the area where they probably will make the single biggest contribution.

In your 2018 TED Talk, you noted that, when it comes to the focus on trachoma, we don’t compete, we collaborate. Do you find that sometimes we do get a bit competitive in the eye health sector, and is there room for more collaboration?

Trachoma is the biggest example of collaboration. Both Sightsavers and Operation Eyesight are members of the International Coalition for Trachoma Control, which received funding from The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and the British government. This has been shared and is one of the best examples of collaboration in the international eye health sector.

But we [INGOs] also compete, and because of the way that funding mechanisms are set up, I think it’s inevitable. There are not enough resources for all the people who want them. So by definition, we are competing, not just within the eye health sector but across the development sector.

Sometimes we pitch projects together. For example, we have collaborated with the Fred Hollows Foundation, CBM and Orbis, and pitched jointly for funding. Sometimes we’re successful, and sometimes we’re not.

Different organizations from different parts of the world work in different regions globally. Even though Sightsavers has often been the grant maker and the leader, we make sure to bring in all the other organizations, because they may be better placed than us in some countries. For example, we’re working with Operation Eyesight in Narok, Kenya, along with other NGOs. 

What does partnership with organizations like Operation Eyesight mean to Sightavers?

At Sightsavers, partnership is absolutely at the heart of everything.

The most important partnerships are with governments in the countries because governments are the duty bearers. Whether it’s health, education or another government ministry, they’re the ones that have to lead. And for us, that’s the most important partnership. We never work in a country unless we are partnered with the government, because they have to want us there.

You also have to include players that bring different skills to the table, so we have partnerships with other NGOs that might have a different geographic footprint, skill or specialty. And then there are other partners like researchers. For example, we’re close with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and also with universities in countries where we work, particularly in Nigeria, where we have strong partnerships.

Sightsavers has specific skills, but we can’t possibly do everything. Partners bring different things to a coalition or bilateral arrangements. 

Then of course there are donors, particularly donors who have been working with us for many years, whose relationship with us is genuinely about partnership rather than simply contributing funds.

At Operation Eyesight, we have put ourselves on the path to growth through our Global Strategic Plan. As a growing organization, what is it that we should never lose sight of?

At Sightsavers, we grew quite quickly; we took on a lot of additional funds about 10 years ago. One of the most important things we learned is that, if you’re on a growth trajectory, as you grow your money, you must ensure you grow your implementation capacity at least as fast.

Your board of directors plays a critical role in supporting your ambitions. The board needs to remain at a high level and think about the overall strategy and how it’s going to hold management to account. They should ask, what are the key measures we’re going to use to see whether management is delivering? It’s also about having the right board members and encouraging them to work as a team.

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Thank you, Dr. Harper, for taking the time to chat, so we can all learn from your wealth of experience. We look forward to continuing to work with Sightsavers and other partners to eliminate avoidable vision loss. Together, we are empowering communities, strengthening health systems and addressing the root causes of avoidable vision loss, such as poverty, poor sanitation and gender inequality – For All The World To See.

Interested in partnering with Operation Eyesight? Learn more at operationeyesight.com/partnerships

The post Bold vision, courageous leadership: an interview with Sightsavers CEO Dr. Caroline Harper appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

When I travel to our countries of work and to the target villages, I see that eye health is about far more than sight. I have learnt that eye health is about children being able to learn, play at school and practice hygiene. It is about adults being able to work and run businesses, access clean water, herd animals, grow crops and care for children. It is about seniors who can meet their friends, travel and chase after their grandchildren. Eye health is about reaching everyone in a community, addressing all the avoidable vision loss issues and empowering the community to take care of their eye health themselves. Often, this is the impact of partnerships between organizations and governments, hospitals and communities with a shared vision to improve quality of life. Actually, health and partnerships are so important that they have been identified in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) as necessary for a peaceful and prosperous world.  

This June, I am attending the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) global event, 2030 IN SIGHT LIVE in Mexico. (See above for a photo of my eye health peers and I at last year’s event.) As an elected IAPB board member and someone who has been leading health and eye health care programmes for more than 35 years, I will join hands with fellow experts and organizations in the eye health sector to apply our collective knowledge to address:   

1. What needs to be done to transform the vision of universal eye care into a global reality by 2030? 

2. What ground-breaking approaches will accelerate action and transform eye health? 

3. What steps can we take to embed conscious, inclusive and sustainable best practices across the eye health sector? 

4. What can we do to harness our strengths and diverse skills to increase momentum together to empower change? 

5. To address diverse needs and shape the future of eye health, how can we meet the rising demand and changing landscapes with strategic sustainable solutions? 

My experience has shown me that a key part of the answer to all these questions lies in the power of partnerships. By working together, we can build sustainable strategies that connect international agencies, national governments, hospitals, and health care workers, and extend right down into the communities and each person there.   

Partnerships at the strategic, implementational and program levels will ensure that multiple players can focus on their strengths – from sharing eye health care data with international agencies that set global goals, to working with national governments to include eye health in health care and education policies, to supporting hospitals and training health care workers who treat vision issues, to empowering communities to identify and address vision problems for everyone who lives there. Through partnerships, we stand together so we have more visibility. We have more influence and more funding. We have more technical expertise, and we have more community connections.  

Over more than 60 years, Operation Eyesight has developed a sustainable model of community empowerment. I take great pride in our flagship model, which is not only sustainable but also scalable. This model serves as evidence to the successful implementation of the World Health Organization’s five recommendations outlined in its World Report on Vision 2019: making eye care a part of universal health care, integrating people-centred eye care into health systems, promoting high-quality implementation and health systems research that compliments evidence for effective eye health care interventions, monitoring trends and evaluating progress for effective eye care interventions, and raising awareness, engaging and empowering people and communities about eye care needs. I attribute the success of this model to our dedicated partners and the communities we serve. 

When we partner with others, we become the bridge between health care services and communities. While many organizations work down to the hospital level, we start with the hospital and work down to the community level where we reach all those individuals who are in need of eye care. With the hospital, we identify a service area and build a local vision centre. Next, we train local community health care workers in the community. In our nine countries of work, our network of more than 2,500 community health care workers conduct door-to-door surveys, knocking on doors and identifying people with vision challenges. These workers then refer people to the vision centre for eye exams and prescription eyeglasses or treatment for eye diseases. Those with issues that require services beyond the vision centre, such as cataract, are referred to the local hospital for surgery. Once all avoidable vision loss cases are addressed, the community is declared avoidable blindness-free. The community can then sustain this as they now have ownership of their own eye health care.  

Time and time again we have seen this model work. We are publishing research on the results, investing in resources to replicate it, and harnessing partnerships to bring this model to new communities and new countries of work.  

In Mexico City, I plan to reconnect with current partners and meet new partners. I will learn from them about their perspectives on the five key questions IAPB is asking and share my views with them. Additionally, I will discuss what more Operation Eyesight can do to further strengthen our partnerships and chart a future course that allows us to collectively reach out to many more individuals and communities. I look forward to seeing so many global community members in Mexico City and to working together to answer the five IAPB questions. I believe that together, we have the power to transform eye health care – For All The World To See.    

Join our global community, partner with us and we will transform more lives together.

The post The Power of Partnerships: Seeing is Believing by Kashinath Bhoosnurmath appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

This year, on Oct. 12, our global community brought quality eye health care to more than 108,000 people across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Canada. Together with our partners we organized eye health screenings, distributed free prescription eyeglasses and provided no-cost cataract surgeries.  

“There is no better way to celebrate World Sight Day than by bringing eye health care and education to those who need it most, especially women and girls, to ensure gender equality i.e. equal outcomes for women and men and gender diverse groups. Moreover, eye health significantly contributes to sustainable Development Goals in terms of better options of livelihood, enhanced school performance and socio-economic development that leads to quality of life,” says Dr. Ritu Ghosh, our Global Director, International Programmes.

“The collaboration of our staff and volunteers, donors, partners and communities has helped make this one of Operation Eyesight’s most impactful and successful World Sight Day celebrations to date.”  

Celebrations in South Asia

In Bangladesh, with our partner Netracona Vision Centre, we hosted three school eye health screening camps, which provided comprehensive eye health screenings for 513 children. Forty-three adults were screened at the vision centre.

In Nepal, through our school eye health screening camps, we screened nearly 1,300 students and 19 school staff, and distributed 38 pairs of free prescription eyeglasses. At the Simara Vision Centre, during the two weeks leading up to World Sight Day, 104 patients received life-changing cataract surgery free of charge. Prior to upgrades supported by Operation Eyesight, the facility performed approximately 20 cataract surgeries per month.

In nearby India, in collaboration with our partners we hosted nine eye health screening events at schools and in the community, reaching 1,445 students and 145 adults. We also distributed 98 free pairs of prescription eyeglasses, provided 137 sight-restoring cataract surgeries and organized eye health education events for nearly 2,500 people. 

“In addition to eye health screening, distributing eyeglasses and providing surgeries, eye health education plays a key role in ensuring that people know where to seek eye care when they need it,” explains Dr. Troy Cunningham, our Country Director for India. “This combination of treatment and education made it possible for us to declare 39 villages Avoidable Blindness-Free on World Sight Day.” 

World Sight Day in Africa and beyond

In Ghana, we joined forces with nursing staff at Saltpond Hospital, our partner facility, to hold public screenings in Awutu Senya District and Mfantseman Municipality. 

“Eye health at work was a focus for World Sight Day this year, and our screening activities were aimed at reaching drivers and traders while at work,” says Emmanuel Kumah, our Country Director for Ghana. 

“Our partnership with Ghana Health Service is critical to our ability to reach people in the community and connect them with not only eye health care but with their local health system. We’re grateful to our government and hospital partners for helping make World Sight Day 2023 such a success.” 

World Sight Day celebrations in Kenya focused on delivering eye health screening and treatment to office and factory workers, teachers and public transport drivers. Eye health screening events for the public were held at our partner hospitals and facilities, enabling us to reach nearly 6,600 people and distribute 291 pairs of eyeglasses – prescription or readers.  

Additionally, we hosted eye health education events that reached 2,005 people including workers at PJ Dave Flower Farm in Kajiado. Our partner Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital conducted a procession to create awareness on the importance of eye health, drawing the community’s attention to the services available at the hospital. 

“We were proud to join the Ministry of Health for annual World Sight Day celebration events,” says Alice Mwangi, our Country Director for Kenya. “In keeping with this year’s World Sight Day theme of the world of work, we were able to bring eye health screening and awareness to workplaces, through the generosity of our donors and the know-how and passion of our partner facilities.” ”  

In Zambia, we joined forces with the nursing staff at our partner Maamba General Hospital to conduct eye health screenings at five schools in the Sinazongwe district in the Southern Province. In total, 565 students were screened and 43 received reading eyeglasses.  

“This year’s World Sight Day celebrations focused on reaching pupils and teachers while at work,” says Kelly Kaira, our Programme Manager for Zambia. “The pupils and teachers were grateful for the intervention, and some of them would not have otherwise been able to access eye health services, because of the distance to the hospital, the cost of services and financial limitations. We are grateful to our donors who helped us provide the Gift of Sight, and to our government and hospital partners for helping make World Sight Day 2023 such a success.” 

In Calgary, Canada where our global headquarters are located, in collaboration with EvolutionEyes, we provided comprehensive eye exams to eight mothers and four children. The screening event was hosted at Highbanks Society, which empowers young women to attend school and engage in personal planning and goal setting.

“Although many people in Canada take eye health care for granted, there are many people who still face barriers, including Indigenous Peoples and people experiencing homelessness,” explains Sidney Gill, our Community Engagement Specialist – Indigenous Programs. “However, this journey towards self-sufficiency for these communities is not without its hurdles, and vision health is a fundamental element of their overall well-being.” 

From sharing eye health tips on social media and in the community, to providing life-changing eyeglasses, surgeries and eye exams, World Sight Day 2023 was a global effort that would not have been possible without our staff, volunteers and partners, as well as our communities of work. Together, we added our voice to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’s annual #LoveYourEyes campaign and joined our eye health peers in encouraging everyone, everywhere to make eye health a priority – For All The World To See. 

The post World Sight Day brings the Gift of Sight to the globe appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

It’s one of five schools across Ethiopia’s state of Amhara where the attendance rate for girls decreases each year due to inaccessibility of clean water and bathroom facilities. 

“Students had to walk for more than 15 minutes to get water from surrounding households. Many would not return to classes after that,” says the school’s principal, Yingesu Meshobiaw. “In the past, when girls felt that their period was setting in, they used to jump over fences and go home for lack of facilities.”

In 2022, in partnership with Partners in Education Ethiopia and the Peter Gilgan Foundation, we launched a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program at Abichikili and four other primary and secondary schools in the state, bringing locally-accessible water to more than 9,000 students. 

The project has also helped improve school attendance, particularly among girls, who make up more than half of the student population. Before the project, upwards of 10 students were absent from class for a full week each month, often falling behind in class. 

“Water access is vital for everyone. Water sources on school grounds allow for community gardens, which promote a different kind of learning and responsibility of nutrition – for students and adults alike,” Yingesu adds.  

Local access to fresh water allows people to wash their hands, faces and clothing, prevention transmission of diseases, including blinding trachoma, which is a key cause of vision loss and blindness across sub-Saharan Africa.

Our teams took a variety of approaches to bring water to the schools, including drilling boreholes to access groundwater, digging trenches and installing water supply lines, and setting up storage tanks, faucets and appropriate drainage.  

Faculty and community members received training to maintain their water infrastructure and test water quality. Twenty-one female teachers also received menstrual hygiene training including how to create reusable sanitary pads using local materials. 

“Having a water supply line has changed our school for the better,” Yingesu says. “Girls started using the facility the day it opened, and attendance rates have increased tremendously.”

The post Healthy students, healthy futures appeared first on Operation Eyesight.