Empower women in rural India to combat blindness

The birth of a child is one of life’s most joyous occasions. For the parents of premature infants, that joy is mixed with an immediate concern about how their child can live a long and healthy life. One of the challenges faced by premature infants is blindness caused by Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) which places them at high risk of impaired vision with its devastating risks for lifelong poverty and disability. Happily, early intervention utilizing new forms of screening and early treatment has made ROP entirely preventable.

Since its inception, the Jiti Foundation has partnered with Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH) to tackle blindness in India. India is home to the world’s largest share of people with blindness, eighty percent of which is preventable. Recognizing the critical need for early intervention of ROP, Dr. Shroff’s developed a structured screening program that would make identification and treatment widely available. As recently as five years ago, the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi remained the only referral center for a child diagnosed with ROP. In addition, no consistent means existed to track who was reaching the center and whether they received the necessary treatment.

Responding to the dire need for expanded screening and treatment to save children from a lifetime of blindness, SCEH formed a partnership with the Delhi government-run Mission NEEV which was already performing screening for six congenital diseases. SCEH took responsibility for screening for ROP and then the real work began. An effective system required coordinating with Neonatal ICU’s and standardizing workflows. The biggest challenge was ensuring consistent follow-up. Additionally, SCEH needed to create training teams, manage resources, and, most importantly, continuously create awareness among parents and health care providers. Government doctors and nurses also had to be counselled and motivated to refer patients and support the process.

Currently, the SCEH ROP teams visit 27 NICU’s in government hospitals across the Delhi and Mathura districts, providing screening, laser, and treatments. The program receives referrals from adjoining states, as well. In the last 4 years, SCEH screened over 7000 premature babies and treated over 1000, salvaging their vision. But this wasn’t a single-handed effort. This structure is built on strong partnerships and shared purpose. From the dedicated ROP team, associated neonatology team, courageous and relentless parents and caregivers, to the generous support of USAID and other funders, the program strives to screen and treat every eligible ROP baby. SCEH continues to expand services, train healthcare teams, and strengthen awareness about this avoidable cause of childhood blindness as every child deserves not just to survive—but to see, dream, and thrive.

In addition to supporting this effort to ensure healthy vision for children through a network of clinics, Jiti is thrilled that its support of the Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOP) program is making a contribution towards preventing the effects of ROP.  Through Jiti’s support of the AOP program with scholarships for young women and placements in local clinics, newly trained ophthalmic paramedics are part of the ROP teams critical to this initiative’s success.  Below, we highlight the story of one young woman trainee whose participation in the ROP screening program has given her life great purpose in addition to that she finds from being a wife and mother.

An AOP graduate and young mother expresses her pride in being part of the ROP Screening Initiative

The narrative below is reprinted with the permission of Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, which included it in their quarterly newsletter from September/October 2025.

“I was a young naïve girl just out of school when an ASHA worker in the colony informed my friend and me regarding an AOP course at SCEH. Although I was as clueless as most teenagers are about what I want to do with my life, I knew I wanted to work to help people. While my friend didn’t get through, I did, and that’s how my eight-year long association with SCEH started. Everything I am and became in life, happened while I was here. What this place gave me was a deep-rooted sense of stability that I couldn’t have expected anywhere else.

When I joined SCEH, I was fascinated by the OR. I always wanted to work there, but didn’t get a chance. Instead, I was trained into becoming a patient educator. Initially, it didn’t interest me a lot, but one morning, when I opened the eye patch of a post-operative patient, he blessed me immensely as I was the first face he saw after years of blindness. In that moment, I knew I was in the right place.

Soon after the course got over, I got married. While my husband was away working in Bangalore, I felt the need to work as well. And as if God had responded to my wish, I got a call from Dr Monica Gandhi, who offered me a research position. I was on a maternity leave when COVID-19 lockdown hit and the project was shelved. Once the hospital started functioning again, I rejoined another department of the hospital. When I returned from my second maternity leave, my earlier position was already filled and there was no vacancy. However, I was still on leave without pay, while waiting for a job position. The responsibility of running the family and caring for two kids, made me want to quit and be a stay-at-home mother. I was on my way to the hospital to give my resignation when a call with my mother changed the course of my life. She inspired me to work and be financially independent and offered to help with my children. She devoted her entire life to care for her family and now she is doing the same for mine.

Today, I work in the ROP program. Earlier, we used to screen the labor rooms in various hospitals for pre-term babies, who were later examined by the doctors. Currently I screen them with a hand-held device independently. I think I have come a long way from a young oblivious girl to a responsible woman managing both my personal and professional life. But it wouldn’t have been possible without the immense and selfless support from my mother and the endless confidence the people of the hospital have had in me. I am forever grateful to the contribution of each and every person who has molded me into someone I am proud of.”