Free Eye Camps
Country: Bangladesh
Topic: Enable and Social
Last updated:
Bangladesh has one of the highest percentages of blind people in relation to its population. There are approximately 750,000 adults and 40,000 children in Bangladesh who are blind due to cataract or other ocular diseases that could have easily been cured with timely and proper intervention.
The major challenge in eliminating blindness in Bangladesh is reaching the rural and underserved population, as the majority of country’s eye-care facilities are based in urban areas. The approximately 80 percent of Bangladeshis who live in rural areas are almost completely deprived of eye-care services.
Bangladesh is currently participating in VISION 2020: Right to Sight, a global initiative jointly launched in 1999 by WHO and IAPB, to eradicate blindness from the world by the year 2020. As a part of the country’s mission to combat blindness, Grameenphone, in partnership with Sightsavers International, organizes free eye camps throughout the country, in areas where eye-care services are not readily available.
Launch Date:
July 2007
How it Works
Grameenphone, along with Sightsavers International, organizes the eye camps in different parts of the country. Prior to the eye-camps, community-based public announcements are carried out in targeted localities to ensure optimal participation in the community. During the eye camps, two types of services are provided: free prescriptions based on necessary medical check-ups and free cataract surgery, if necessary.
Project Milestones:
- Around 36,327 patients received free eye-care support and 4,743 cataract surgeries being performed so far.
- 24 eye camps have been conducted in different parts of Bangladesh.