Tag: IAPB

How the Young Will See Their Future – and the cost to all of us if they don’t

Posted on by Kate Moynihan
Photo of David Mukisa by Joe Raffanti.
Photo by Joe Raffanti: From the age of two, David Mukisa from Busia, Uganda, lived with poor eyesight, affecting every aspect of his young life. When he was seven, his mother joined a group traveling to Seva-supported Benedictine Eye Hospital. There, he was diagnosed with cataracts, and received bilateral cataract surgeries for free. “Fortunately he could be treated, even though I didn’t have money,” said David’s mom Alexia. ”A great weight has been lifted from my heart.”

Last month, the Seva Foundation and The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness released a groundbreaking report revealing a striking truth:

Children with vision loss learn at half the rate of those with good or corrected vision. Put another way – every year, 6.3 million school years are lost due to uncorrected vision, amounting to $173 billion in future earnings each year. Imagine the impact if those kids could simply see the board. What innovations would emerge? What challenges could these young minds overcome?

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Seva Foundation Releases Landmark Child Eye Report for World Sight Day

Posted on by Dr. Brad Wong, Chief Economist, Seva Foundation
Photo of Nepali students by Praful Lal Shresta.

Across low-and-middle-income countries, less than half of 10-year-old children can read. This alarming phenomenon has been labelled by education experts around the world as the global ‘learning crisis’: A bitter-sweet situation in which we have achieved near universal primary education, including gender parity, but in which children are not achieving sufficient mastery of basic literacy and numeracy.

Policymakers will need to use a variety of tools to address the learning deficit. One promising but under-considered intervention is hiding in plain sight: eyeglasses.

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Our very own Kuldeep Singh is recognized as an Eye Health Hero!

Posted on by Seva Foundation
Kuldeep Singh, Program Manager for India & Bangladesh, is a 2021 Eye Health Heroes – Future Leaders recipient!

Seva’s very own Kuldeep Singh, Program Manager for India & Bangladesh, was named an Eye Health Hero by the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness. This recognition celebrates change-makers, innovators, and leaders across all areas and backgrounds in eye health. 

Early on, Kuldeep recognized that investing in eye care improves someone’s vision and touches on every other facet of their life. In his words, “eye care is everything!” Congrats to him on this well-deserved achievement!

“Restoring sight touches all parts of life – health, job secrurity, dignity, and opportunity. It impacts not just one person but entire families and communities. Investing in eye care is one of the most impactful development interventions and I am grateful to be part of such an incredible organization dedicated to this important mission.”

– Kuldeep Singh

Meet our Vision Excellence Award Winners!

Posted on by Seva Foundation
A girl in Guatemala has her eyes examined. Photo by Joe Raffanti.

The International Association of Blindness (IAPB) created the Vision Excellence Award to commemorate the end of its 21-year global initiative, VISION 2020: A Right to Sight. In recognition of their life-changing, world-transforming work in the field of humanitarian eye care, IAPB has recognized a total of ten Seva team members and partners with the prize.

“On behalf of the whole Seva family, congratulations to these extraordinary sight leaders and practitioners,” says Kate Moynihan, Executive Director of Seva Foundation. “Seva staff and partners consistently set the standard for patient-centered vision care. Today’s award winners share the commitment and quality of work that brings access to sustainable eye care to millions of individuals and their communities worldwide. I can’t wait to see how – together – we will continue to change the world.”

Thank you for supporting Seva and making these incredible accomplishments possible!

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