80% of blindness is treatable or preventable. Aravind Eye Care System provides free cataract surgery to the blind in India, supported by our paying patients. But we need your help to treat complicated eye cancers in children, provide free spectacles for school children, and provide food and housing for patients who must travel many miles to reach an Aravind hospital.
There are 39 million blind in the world (WHO) -- 80% of these cases are treatable. One-third are among India's rural poor where there is limited access to high-quality eye care. Aravind has developed a self-sustaining model for cataract surgery -- one paying patient subsidizes an additional two patients who are too poor to pay. But we need financial support to treat complicated, long-term illnesses such as diabetic retinopathy, eye cancers, provide glasses, and reach rural communities.
Aravind Eye Foundation will provide free vision exams and spectacles for children, comprehensive care for patients with eye cancer and diabetic retinopathy, food and transportation services for poor patients in rural areas, training for doctors and healthcare professionals in other hospitals, funding for research into eye conditions and treatments, and outreach into rural areas.
Blindness affects the entire community. The person who loses his sight, loses his ability to care for his family, pay for his children's education, and contribute to the economic growth of his village. The loss of global economic productivity due to blindness is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2020. Annually, this project will provide care for 100 eye cancer patients, spectacles for 1000 children, food and transportation for 1000 free cataract patients, laser surgery for 1000 diabetics.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
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