Essilor announced that since 2013, its inclusive business, 2.5 New Vision Generation (2.5 NVG), has equipped more than 10 million people from underserved populations in India with glasses and, through its Eye Mitra program, provided over 200 million people with sustainable access to vision care. This announcement confirms 2.5 NVG’s significant impact towards the company’s ambition to eradicate poor vision by 2050.
Eye Mitra (friend of the eyes), 2.5 NVG’s flagship inclusive business program and the world’s largest rural optical network, is one of the leading contributors to this milestone. To honor their accomplishment, Essilor hosted more than 1,000 Eye Mitras from across India at its 6th annual Eye Mitra Convention in Jaipur on 8 May.
Uncorrected poor vision affects 2.5 billion people around the world and has an estimated economic and social impact of $272 billion per year*. To address this issue, Eye Mitra was launched in 2013. Through training, skills building and livelihood promotion, the program empowers unemployed and underemployed young people to set up micro enterprises in their rural communities. Trained to conduct basic vision screening and dispense affordable eyeglasses, Eye Mitras create access to vision care where it was not available before. The success of Eye Mitra in India has also led to its expansion and adaptation across the world in markets such as Bangladesh, Kenya and Indonesia – today we have nearly 12,000 primary vision care providers globally.
The annual convention is an important moment for Eye Mitras from across India to come together to celebrate their achievements, share their learnings and stories to help motivate and inspire others to develop and grow. The theme of this year’s convention looked to the future, showcasing the innovation and digitization that will help equip millions more living in rural areas with the vision correction they need.
Essilor aims to create 25,000 primary vision care providers around the world by 2020.
Click HERE for the full press release.
