Sight Savers - Vision Care

About The Project

Cataract is the major cause of blindness which can be cured with simple surgery restoring the life of that person. But due to lack of awareness and unable to visit hospital for check-ups, poor people living in urban slums lose their eyesight. With 70% of the Ranchi’s urban population living in slum areas, i.e., about 6 lac people have little or no access to eye care and glasses. It has been understood that loss of near eyesight has the biggest impact on the livelihood of the people concerned. The worst hit of the loss of eye sight are blacksmiths, artisans, cobblers, farmers, housewives, who do not understand the reason as to why their eye sight is decreasing and the treatment for it. This results in decrease in the quality of their work and loss of customers and subsequently livelihood. According to WHO, more that 68,000 of new cataract blindness is registered every year in Jharkhand state of India alone. With countable eye hospitals providing services for poor and pity condition of government hospitals, the situation become alarming.

  • New cataract blind cases are increasing every year in Jharkhand.
  • 85% of cases are curable, but poor people are losing their eyesight in absence of proper medical facility at village level.
  • Most affected at tribal community where there is extreme lack of awareness about cataract.

Under the VISION AMBASSDOR project supported by 2.5 NVG, ESSILOR, a survey was conducted by Manthan Yuva Sansthan in urban slum of Hindpiri, Ranchi and it is found that the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment is a major problem in artisan group. Cataract, corneal opacities, glaucoma segment conditions are responsible for a major proportion of the blindness. These causes of visual impairment can only be redressed by timely eye care awareness and availability of affordable services at their doorsteps.

The main objective of this project is :

  • To increase awareness on eye care among the urban slum population of Ranchi.
  • Increase accessibility of eye care services for three lac inhabitants of urban slum of Ranchi.
  • To include, capacitate and develop the informal health providers a key resource for vision screening and referral points at ward & Mohalla level.
  • Establish and develop strong referral networks for both eye care and low vision and vision impaired (LV/VI) patients through which the communities continue accessing services beyond the project.

Rationale for the project:

  • Urban Slums of Ranchi district of Jharkhand have very low exposure or experience towards cataract, low vision and refractive error.
  • Urban Slums lack the affordable basic infrastructure and facilities of basic vision screening and awareness.
  • 85% of cases are curable, but poor people are losing their eyesight in absence of proper medical facility at affordable prices.
  • Approx 30% livelihoods of artisan groups are suffered due to poor visioning.

Methodology:

  • Active involvement of all the stakeholders.
  • Orientation & training of informal health providers a key Resource.
  • IEC materials in local languages.
  • Schedule for vision screening camps and eye check up.
  • Referral services.
  • Product & services knowledge and their availability accessibility to urban slum population

Strategies:

  • Tie-up with renowned hospital for referral cases.
  • Meeting with, Sahiyas, SHG members, Anganwadi Workers)
  • Awareness generation through meetings ,trainings & distribution of IEC material
  • Organizing Vision screening camps at urban slums, schools & Mela.
  • Organizing Vision screening at vision center.
  • Follow-up of referral cases.

Activities Organized:

  • Set up of vision center.
  • Recruitment of staff for vision center.
  • Preparation of IEC material.
  • Dissemination of IEC material among the community to propagate.
  • Baseline survey in Ranchi urban & slums.
  • Orientation for vision center staff at Kolkata office.
  • Camp for vision screening.
  • Camp for DR screening at -
  1. Mega Eye Camp at Marwari College in Ranchi:
  2. Camp at Don Bosco Church on 18th June in Ranchi.
  3. Camp at Gel Church in Ranchi.
  4. Meeting with SHGs & Sahiya & women leaders in ward.
  5. Training of Sahiyas, MAS member, SHGs

Training conducted at different locations in Ranchi as. They were sensitized on eye care & propagate about vision center’s free services .So that slum population could avail it .It was discussed in the training that they are direct access to their community people, so it is their responsibility to make them aware on eye care.

Target Groups:

  • Training of teachers in schools so that increase referrals of children identified with eye disorders to screening camps and vision center’s.
  • Establishment of vision centre’s in slum communities so that increase accessibility of eye care amongst slum dwellers especially women and children.
  • Provision of free spectacles for poor children. The spectacle provision will create demand for spectacles amongst urban slum communities.
  • Provision of adult and child cataract surgeries. Increase accessibility of sight restoring surgery which will have a positive impact on quality of life.
  • Screening of school children so that increase awareness of eye health which encourage children to become ambassadors of eye health within their communities.
  • Screening of adults’ community screening programmes and home visits. People identified with cataract referred for surgery to base hospitals.