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Tamil Nadu suffers high rates of preventable blindness and eye disease.

About the project

Around half a million people in Tamil Nadu will benefit from new Vision Centres - bringing life-changing primary eye care within reach of the poorest communities.

Working through our partners Aravind Eye Care System (AECS), our project will create ten Vision Centres to take vital eye care treatment to the poorest people, living in remote areas far from healthcare facilities and hospitals.

Tamil Nadu’s communities suffer high rates of preventable blindness and eye disease. Most common causes are cataract, refractive error – or impaired vision needing corrective spectacles – and glaucoma.

But 90% of these problems are avoidable or treatable. Restoring sight goes far beyond improving a person’s quality of life. It means they can play a full and active role in their family, their community and the wider economy.

Vision Centres are based in poor communities giving sight-saving treatments to the blind, and those with eye disease. Screening, spectacles and further treatment referrals are also provided. Working as ‘satellites’ with base hospitals, vision centres mean we can reach and help more people in need, with active community involvement.

By the end of our project in Tamil Nadu, we will have provided:

• Comprehensive primary eye care services to the entire 500,000-strong population
• Ten Vision Centres in Madurai, Dindigul, Sivagangai, Theni and Tiruchirapalli districts
• Active field work including rehabilitation of blindness and low vision, and promotion of eye care
• Low-cost telemedicine facilities at each centre for more comprehensive diagnostic services.

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