In addition to being a full-time mom, Shakuntala also works as an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) with the Government of India, providing healthcare and referrals for others in her community of Gadhara Village.  

For the past eight years, she has provided advice to women regarding their pregnancies, referring several women each month to local health facilities. She has also supported home-based newborn care and vaccinations for children in her community.  

Thanks to primary eye care training offered by Operation Eyesight in August 2022, Shakuntala can also identify common eye conditions and provide referral for those experiencing eye health issues.  

“I got to learn a lot about eye health care,” she explains. “The training program has built my skills in measuring the vision of a person. Now I screen the eyesight of my community members with these simple techniques and refer them to Health and Wellness Centres.” 

Dec. 12 is Universal Health Coverage Day – an opportunity to shine a light on the importance of smart investment when it comes to health services. Across the globe, millions of people still don’t have access to basic health care. Through training local health staff like Shakuntala, we are working to change that. 

“We are helping ensure health care staff in the community have the skills and knowledge they need to deliver quality health care to people who need it,” explains Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, President & CEO of Operation Eyesight. 

“Universal health coverage is needed now more than ever before. Equipping health staff through eye health training brings us one step closer to making that a reality.” 

Shakuntala performs basic vision tests and identifies symptoms of conditions like cataracts, refractive error and pterygium – a growth on the eye’s conjunctiva. Armed with the knowledge and skills she gained both during her ASHA training and additional eye care training, she is able to address many of the determinants of health, including some of the root causes of avoidable blindness such as vitamin A deficiency and poor hygiene.   

One of the key recommendations of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2019 World Report on Vision is to implement Integrated People-centered Eye Care (IPEC), as it will play a critical role in addressing the global eye health crisis. ‘Integrated’ eye care is care that is part of the local health system. This often requires partnership with local hospitals and often means utilizing local health resources, personnel and infrastructure. ‘People-centred’ means focusing on the needs, preferences and values of individuals and communities. 

IPEC has been a core component of Operation Eyesight’s approach for decades, because we focus on the unique needs of individuals and communities, as well as partner with local governments and health programs. In India, this includes opening local vision centres or vision points and recruiting local health workers who are predominantly women to conduct door-to-door screenings.  

“Trainings give health care staff in a community the skills and knowledge they need to make eye health care a standard part of the care they provide. Ultimately, this helps make eye care both accessible and sustainable for a community long-term,” explains Dr. Troy Cunningham, our Country Director for India. “Training local health workers like Shakuntala is a key part of that.” 

Operation Eyesight has been working closely with the state governments in both Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to establish vision care facilities within already-existing government health centres, such as Health and Wellness Centres. Additionally, we are providing training for ASHAs and other healthcare providers. This has helped make eye health care services available to the most underserved populations. 

“Our approach helps ensure that we leave no one behind, especially girls and women, which translates into empowered communities that can care for their own health,” Troy adds. “This work is so exciting because it aligns with the transformative impact on India’s health system.” 

For Shakuntala, it has enabled her to cater services to the unique needs of the patients and families she serves in her own community.  

To donate to Operation Eyesight Universal and help provide training for more health workers like Shakuntala, click here.   

With files from Subhadip Bhattacharya, Head, Resource Mobilization, Operation Eyesight.

The post Building on the strengths of local, government health workers  appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

When countries invest in UHC, they are investing in their greatest asset: people. Good health keeps people out of poverty and allows them to fully contribute to their families and communities. Men and women can go to work and children can go to school and learn. Good health enables prosperity for all.

A common misconception of UHC is the notion that all health services are available to everyone for free, regardless of the cost. Each country has its own path to achieving UHC. What coverage looks like will depend on a country’s resources and the needs of its people. It is important to note that UHC emphasizes the importance of access to health services and information as a basic human right.

UHC is not a new concept, it is based on the 1948 WHO Constitution which declares health a fundamental human right and commits to ensuring the highest attainable level of health for all. In recent years UHC has gained significant momentum. In 2019, at the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders adopted the goal of working together to achieve UHC by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health systems globally. Countries everywhere have experienced shortages of hospital beds, medical supplies and health care workers. It has exposed gaps in public health care and has exasperated inequities. Many of the gains achieved towards achieving UHC have been lost due to the pandemic. The time to act is now.

Eye health, a critical component of UHC, has been severely impacted by the pandemic. Over 2.2 billion people globally suffer from vision impairment or blindness. Avoidable blindness is a global issue that has been made even worse by the strain COVID-19 has put on health systems particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The pandemic has brought many challenges, but it also brings an opportunity to re-think how we deliver health care and services. At Operation Eyesight, we are focused on ensuring our hospital partners and community health workers can deliver care in a safe environment by protecting themselves and their patients. Looking ahead to 2021, we are imagining new ways to bring affordable, sustainable, quality eye health care to more people than ever before. This includes innovations and technologies to bring eye health services closer to communities, reducing the need to travel long distances to reach a hospital. 

Operation Eyesight is committed to providing the highest quality of care to everyone regardless of their ability to pay. We work to address the root causes of avoidable blindness and remove barriers to access to care for women, girls, men and boys. In celebration of UHC Day 2020, we invite you to join us in eliminating avoidable blindness for the most vulnerable.  Together, we have an opportunity to build a safer and healthier future for all.

References:

https://www.who.int/health-topics/universal-health-coverage#tab=tab_1

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(uhc)

WHO. (2019, October). World Report on Vision.

The post Eye Health is a Critical Component of Universal Health Coverage appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

What is Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and why is it important? Last month at the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders adopted the goal of working together to achieve UHC by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Currently, more than half of the world’s population lacks access to essential health services. Those living in poverty are even more disadvantaged by having to pay for these services, pushing them even further into the cycle of poverty. In a world with UHC, every woman, girl, man and boy would have access to essential health services without facing a financial burden or exclusion.

At the Devex UHC Pavilion, I had the opportunity to hear from global leaders who discussed these challenges and shared insights about how we can work towards achieving the goal of UHC. Many ideas were shared, and it is clear UHC will not be achieved alone; we need to build collaborative, multi-sector partnerships that bring together a range of perspectives and expertise. Our beneficiaries must be at the centre of our solutions; a human-centred approach is essential to ensure we are fully meeting the needs of the end user. Further, we need to build scalable and sustainable models that can attract private sector investment to our solutions. Most importantly, through all of this we need to ensure we leave no one behind – that means developing innovative models to reach the most underserved and marginalized communities.

Uncorrected poor vision is the world’s largest unaddressed disability, with one in three people being affected – 89 percent of which live in developing countries (Essilor). Even more alarming, this costs our global economy US$272 billion in lost productivity every single year (Essilor).

Poor vision is a public health crisis, and it is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Those who live in poverty are more susceptible to vision impairment because of lack of access to primary health services, poor hygiene and sanitary conditions, and cultural stigmas around vision correction. When a person living in poverty can properly see, they become an active, engaged member of their community, and they no longer face the burden of being shamed for their disability.

An estimated US$14 billion is required to create a world free from uncorrected refractive errors (Essilor). This sounds like a lot, but it is achievable – with commitment and action from governments, the private sector, civil society organizations and global citizens like you.

Together, we can improve the lives of millions of people by preventing blindness and restoring sight. A simple pair of eyeglasses enables individuals to return to work, provides children with the opportunity to attend and succeed at school, and increases one’s safety and well-being.

We partner with local hospitals and governments to provide quality eye care services to everyone – regardless of gender, age or ability to pay. We work to address the root causes of avoidable blindness and remove barriers to access for women and men alike. Our innovative community outreach model trains community health workers – typically women who live and work in our target communities – to conduct door-to-door eye screenings and educate families about eye health and general health topics such as prenatal care, nutrition and immunization.

Enabling individuals to reach their full potential benefits us all. We have made significant strides in addressing poor vision, but there is still much work to be done. We have an opportunity to collectively address one of the world’s largest public health challenges and improve the lives of millions while doing so.

This World Sight Day, October 10, I invite you to make a donation and join us as we transform lives – For All The World To See.

The post Universal Health Coverage: A radical idea and a basic human right appeared first on Operation Eyesight.