Each year, Calgary-based Operation Eyesight celebrates
World Sight Day to bring awareness to the importance of making global eye
health a priority. In 2020, World Sight Day takes place on October 8, with a
theme of “Hope in Sight”.
This year, Operation Eyesight will be taking social
media followers to visit their country offices, partner hospitals, board
locations and corporate partners. Starting in India, participants will travel
to Nepal, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, the U.K. and North America.
“This event will give people a unique opportunity to
see over the course of one day how Operation Eyesight is preventing blindness
and restoring sight for entire communities in need,” says Aly Bandali, President and CEO of Operation Eyesight.
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. To mitigate
this strain in the countries where they work, in March of 2020, Operation
Eyesight shifted priorities by applying the organization’s systems and
experience in providing quality eye care to meet the immediate need, providing
education and supplies that limited the spread of COVID-19 in these
communities.
Operation Eyesight works with local partner hospitals
and governments, bringing sustainable, quality care to both paying patients and
to those who cannot afford to pay. Operation Eyesight-trained community health
workers go door to door in vulnerable communities, screening people for vision
problems, referring them for treatment, and educating them on eye health and
general health. Operation Eyesight first launched its Hospital-Based Community
Eye Health Model in India in 2009, and has since expanded it to Nepal,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.
With support from donors in Canada and beyond,
Operation Eyesight has restored sight and prevented blindness for millions of
people.
Click HERE for the full press release.