Standard Chartered in collaboration with Mission for Vision, Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust and Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital will establish these Vision Centres
Standard Chartered Bank has joined hands with Mission for Vision for setting up 20 new vision centres (VCs) in several districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar under their Seeing is Believing and Mission Jyot programmes respectively. Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust and Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital are the other two partners in this project which is expected to cater to a population coverage of one million people.
The project will entail setting up of 15 VCs in Uttar Pradesh (Districts: Kaushambi, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj) and five VCs in Bihar (Districts: Kishanganj and Araria). These vision centres, which will be established in remote locations for serving the socio-economically challenged communities, will be manned by trained optometrists and eye health personnel. A significant proportion of the workforce running this project will be women to promote higher uptake of eye health services by women in the targeted communities.
Vision Centres are sustainable, accessible, primary eye care clinics that offer comprehensive services by trained optometrists or vision technicians at affordable rates. Services include primary eye care, referral services, follow-up and adequate awareness creation and eye health education in the community.
Speaking during the launch-event, Karuna Bhatia, Head of Sustainability, India, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “The Bank has made substantial investment in its Seeing is Believing programme which tackles avoidable blindness and visual impairment in low and middle-income communities. Providing eye care interventions at a nominal cost makes it easier for those affected to return to education and work. With these new 20 vision centres to be set up with our partners across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, we plan to offer a large number of patients in these and surrounding areas the opportunity to get their eyes treated in a timely manner, enabling them to lead normal lives. So far under the Seeing is Believing programme, the Bank has reached 14 million people in India, conducted 2.58 million cataract surgeries through our network of 265 vision centres across 22 states.”
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