In 2010, Heeralal became a para medical ophthalmic assistant (PMOA) after the Government of Madhya Pradesh called for MPWs to undergo PMOA training. He conducted regular eye exams at CHC Niwas but was disheartened by having only two or three patients a day. He took part in school screenings and cataract camps as awareness grew.

In 2022, Heeralal saw a turning point when we launched our Integrated People-Centred Eye Care project in Singrauli. CHCs were upgraded to vision centres, equipped with slit lamps and essential ophthalmic tools. PMOAs received refresher training for comprehensive eye examinations to build eye care capacity. A series of targeted interventions rolled out. We trained community health officers, accredited social health activists (ASHAs) and community health volunteers (CHVs). Screening camps were organized with a mobile vision van to boost awareness. With support from ASHAs and CHVs, Heeralal soon saw 12 to 15 patients daily.

Today, Heeralal feels more inspired than ever by the transformation in rural healthcare. His motivation grows with every person whose sight is restored.

Did you know? Integrating eye care into universal health care is one of the five recommendations of the World Health Organization 2019 World Report on Vision.

Learn more about our work in India here.

Learn why we’re working to integrate eye health care into primary health care here.

The post From health worker to eye care champion appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

By signing this important piece of legislation, the Canadian government has established itself as a global leader by prioritizing eye health care as an integral part of universal health care, while also achieving many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Canada, health care is a right. This Bill now makes eye health care a right as well. The passage of Bill C-284 gives hope to the one in five Canadians suffering from a condition that puts them at risk of blindness (eight million people) and the 1.2 million Canadians living with vision loss, figures which come from the 2023 Report Card on Vision Health in Canada, released by Fighting Blindness Canada and the Canadian Council of the Blind. The report states that every year, our national economic burden from vision loss is 32.9 billion dollars. The passage of Bill C-284 is about far more than sight – it is about education for children, employment for adults and independence for seniors.

Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, President and CEO of Operation Eyesight Universal, says, “Today, Canadians have achieved the right to sight, as our universal health care will incorporate eye health care for all, with the passing of Bill C-284, the National Strategy for Eye Care Act, into law. Eye health care too is a priority now in Canada.  This impacts us all. The law will support the many Canadians who have eye conditions they do not know they have. It will also shine a light into the lives of the millions of Canadians who struggle not only with their vision but also with accessing the eye health care they need—across every part of Canada. This inclusive bill signifies that eye health care must be available, accessible and affordable, and it will support child development and learning, adult employment and productivity and senior connection and independence. We are delighted that Canada has the vision to step forward as a national and international leader. We can all see the benefits ahead.”

The importance of this legislation cannot be overstated. Universal eye health care is proactive, preventative and supportive. It includes regular eye exams, early detection of eye conditions, treatment and ongoing supports. For some, treatment can be as simple as getting a pair of prescription eyeglasses which can be transformative – recent research found that students who don’t get the eyeglasses they need learn half as much as students with good or corrected vision, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. This research also stated that when vision is corrected in school it can influence lifelong earnings by up to 78 per cent. This example shows that eye health care impacts not only individuals but also local and global economies. Eye health contributes to several of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been set to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. These include good health and well-being, quality education and poverty reduction. 

For decades, Operation Eyesight has brought inclusive eye health care to communities and regions in countries in Africa and South Asia. We do this by partnering with national, regional, and local governments and leaders, including the ministries of health and education. We act as a bridge between communities, connecting every child, woman and man to local eye health care.

In Alberta, we have been piloting eye health care programs by working with medically underserved communities. We are building relationships with and listening to communities to understand their unique needs, cultures, lived experiences and lifestyles (rural, urban and more), while growing our capacity to support this work in a good way. We know that inclusive eye health care works when people are aware of its importance, it is available and accessible when and where people need it – close to home, school or work – and it is open to all regardless of ability to pay.

We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with governments, organizations and community leaders in Canada to inform this new national eye care strategy. We look forward to contributing our voice to advocate for it to be inclusive so that it is accessible, affordable and available to all. We will continue to raise awareness of the importance of eye health and the need for eye health care in Canada. Together, let us take a long view of our collective right to sight. 

Kris Kelm, Global Director, International Programs, Operation Eyesight Universal 

Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, President & CEO, Operation Eyesight Universal

About Operation Eyesight Universal  operationeyesight.com

Operation Eyesight Universal is an international development organization and registered charity working to prevent blindness and restore sight. Our vision is the elimination of avoidable vision loss. Founded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1963, we are now a global community spanning four continents – Africa, Europe, North America and South Asia. Our vision is global and our focus is local, with teams on the ground in communities of work. Through activities like community outreach, water and sanitation projects, and health education, we at Operation Eyesight are addressing the root causes of avoidable vision loss which contribute to six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: no poverty, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, and partnerships for the goals.

The post Operation Eyesight applauds Bill C-284, the National Strategy for Eye Care Act becoming law  appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Clean water.

When communities have access to abundant clean water, they can wash their hands and faces regularly, do laundry more often, and prevent the otherwise relentless transmission of the disease. That’s why we are working hard with communities and partner organizations to make sure that the people in our project areas have access to a local, sustainable clean water source.

The prevalence and effects of trachoma

There’s been a lot of good news in the eradication of trachoma in recent years. In 2023 alone, Benin, Iraq and Mali each received certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem. Also, the number of people at risk of getting the infection fell from 125 million in 2022 to 115.7 million in 2023, a significant reduction.²

But the hard work must go on.

Ethiopia has some of the highest rates of trachoma worldwide, with the prevalence in the Amhara Region estimated to be nearly 63 per cent. In that country, trachoma is the second leading cause of blindness overall.³

Trachoma continues to infect people in 42 countries and has caused blindness or visual impairment in roughly 1.9 million people. It remains the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. And the effect on the workforce in these countries is huge. According to a recent paper by the WHO, the loss of productivity due to trachoma costs somewhere between US $3-8 billion each year.⁴

To people like Stephen, in Narok County, Kenya, having trachoma meant not being able to support his family. The father of four, who works as a motorcycle courier, struggled with the infection for years. He tried eye drops, eyeglasses and several surgeries before the trichiasis in his right eye, caused by repeat trachoma infections, was fully resolved.

Since undergoing a successful final surgery at one of our partner hospitals, the young man now acts as an eye health ambassador in his community, making sure people know what the infection is, the role of hygiene in stopping its spread, and how to get it treated.

How an infection leads to blindness

Years of repeat infection from trachoma causes scarring to the eyelid. This scarring can be so severe that the eyelid turns inward, causing the eyelashes to rub against the eyeball. This leads to severe pain, light intolerance and scarring of the cornea.

If left untreated, the damage to the cornea can cause vision impairment, usually between the ages of 30 to 40 years⁵, although it can happen in children as well. Trachoma causes 1.4 per cent of blindness globally.⁶

Women become blind from trachoma four times as often as men. This is likely due to frequent infections they get while caring for small children, who often pass trachoma on to others.

How we’re working to eliminating trachoma

At Operation Eyesight, we follow the WHO’s SAFE strategy for controlling and preventing trachoma. SAFE stands for:

S: Surgery to treat trichiasis (the painful late stage of the disease)
A: Antibiotics to eliminate infection
F: Face washing and hygiene education
E: Environmental improvement including wells and latrines

The foundation for the strategy is environmental improvement, namely – providing access to clean water. Over the decades, we’ve worked with communities to rehabilitate and drill hundreds of boreholes. In recent years, most of our work with water has been concentrated in Zambia and Kenya, but we are also getting involved in more water projects in Ethiopia as we expand our programs there.

Along with drilling and rehabilitation, we work with local governments to make sure people can fix the boreholes when they break down. In Zambia, that means financing the training of volunteers called Area Pump Minders (APMs) to do routine maintenance and repair of boreholes. The program helps ensure that there is a system for repair work, with locally-available toolkits and spare parts, and that monitoring of the water supply is happening at the village level. In addition to helping their communities, some of the APMs go on to find paid work repairing privately-owned boreholes. Over the last two years, we’ve seen several women join the traditionally all-male teams, and we hope to recruit more in future.

The community involvement doesn’t stop there. We also work with volunteers to form WASH committees who help educate other people, especially children, in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. In Ethiopia, we are working with partners to train teachers in WASH so they can pass on their knowledge to thousands of students. Our work in Ethiopia has also involved fixing up latrines and providing menstrual supplies, both of which can help keep teenaged girls in school longer.

Antibiotics also go a long way to preventing and treating existing cases of trachoma. We work with local governments and partner organizations to provide these antibiotics to areas with high prevalence of trachoma. Earlier this year, we collaborated with partners in a Mass Drug Administration project in Kenya’s Narok County. Despite wet road conditions that made it challenging for crews to access all the communities, the project managed to administer the antibiotic azithromycin to more than 215,000 people!

Throughout the process, our trained community health volunteers work tirelessly to provide education on the importance of facial cleanliness and environmental improvements in stopping the spread of trachoma.

Finally, with help from our generous donors, our partner hospitals can offer surgeries free of charge to people with advanced stages of trichiasis to alleviate the pain and prevent further loss of sight.

The ripple effects of clean water

We’re involved in clean water projects as a means of preventing trachoma, but the effects of providing clean water to communities are countless. The installation and maintenance of boreholes prevents dozens of waterborne diseases that sicken and threaten the lives of many, and that keep whole communities trapped in the cycle of poverty. Sustainable boreholes help people grow gardens full of fresh vegetables, allow them to raise livestock and improve the quality of life for everyone around them.

The effects of access to clean water are especially beneficial to women and girls. Here’s why:

Education and economic opportunities: In many communities, women and girls are responsible for fetching water, a task that can be extremely time consuming and physically demanding. This can prevent girls from attending school and women from pursuing income-generating activities. When clean water is locally available, girls are more likely to complete their schooling, and women have more time for activities that empower them economically.

Reduced gender-based violence: Providing access to clean water within communities reduces the need for women and girls to travel long distances for water, decreasing their vulnerability to the violence and harassment that they risk when collecting water.

Hygiene and menstrual health: Clean water is essential for maintaining proper hygiene, including menstrual sanitation. When women have access to clean water and sanitation facilities, it positively affects their overall health and dignity.

Community development: Women are often key contributors to the well-being of their communities. When they have access to clean water, they can actively take part in and lead initiatives that enhance the overall living conditions in their communities.

In 2023, we partnered on two new boreholes at schools in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region. In Zambia, we repaired 25 boreholes in the Mkushi District, trained 20 new Area Pump Minders and set up more WASH committees.

You can help us continue our water projects in 2024 by making a donation today. Thank you for your support!

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25148-trachoma
   ↩︎
2. https://www.trachomacoalition.org/news-blogs/who-reports-continued-progress-towards-trachoma-elimination ↩︎
3. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trachoma#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20public%20health,at%20risk%20of%20trachoma%20blindness ↩︎
4. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trachoma#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20public%20health,at%20risk%20of%20trachoma%20blindness ↩︎
5. https://www.who.int/health-topics/trachoma#tab=tab_2 ↩︎
6. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trachoma ↩︎

The post Clean water, clear vision: The link between water and eye health appeared first on Operation Eyesight.