Photo above: Call for Ideas launch in Kampala, Uganda.
Seva’s Call for Ideas (CFI) is a powerful tool for uncovering locally driven, innovative solutions that expand access to eye care. Since its launch in 2019 with Native Nations, CFI has grown to include global technology rounds and regional initiatives.
Seva’s 2024 Global Vision Center Survey gathered insights from 494 staff across five regions to understand the impact of Vision Centers (VCs) on care quality, community reach, and staff satisfaction. The results were overwhelmingly positive, especially where technology use was high.
This past year reminded me again that Seva’s story is one of resilience – not just the resilience of the communities we serve but of a mission that continues to thrive through challenge, change, and time. And at the heart of that resilience is you.
When we first opened a modest Vision Center in the Himalayan hills of Nepal in 1989, we didn’t have a roadmap – just a vision (pun intended) of what was possible. Today, that vision has grown into a worldwide network of 266 Vision Centers, providing permanent access to critical care for over 29 million people. In the last year alone, our partner hospitals in more than 20 countries delivered quality eye care to over 7 million individuals. What sustains this work isn’t just funding or infrastructure – it’s belief. Yours.
I was just soaking in the sights and sounds of Bengaluru, India when, bam, I got the call we Pristine 5.0 cameras wait for – the Burundi eye clinic was finally ready for my arrival.
We’re proud to announce that Seva has been selected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to participate in the Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program (TAP) Pilot. TAP is a voluntary program designed to facilitate more efficient development and approval of medical devices.
Photo of a Pristine 5.0 retina camera in Ukraine donated by Seva.
Since 2017, Seva has worked in Ukraine to address critical eye health needs, including preventing Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in children – the leading cause of blindness among Ukrainian children – and treating CMV retinitis in patients with HIV/AIDS.
When a compassionate community of supporters joins forces with a dedicated team to eliminate preventable blindness, the results are extraordinary. Thanks to your unwavering support, tens of thousands of people regained their sight – bringing hope, possibilities, and brighter futures to communities worldwide.
Here are just a few highlights from 2024 that you made possible:
Matt Damon and Misty Copland, would you mind scooting over? Yes, you may take your award with you. Oh this? Well, we have an award too. Let’s do lunch.
Fine, so we didn’t actually meet our fellow Anthem Award winners. Nonetheless, we’re proud to be among the ranks of people and worldwide organizations whose mission-driven work is acknowledged. In January, Seva was recognized in the categories of Health, Product and Service for the Pristine 5.0 camera (formerly Vistaro).
A Seva-supported Vision Center in Madhya Pradesh, India in collaboration with our partner hospital Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya (SNC).
From education to eyeglasses, from cataract surgery to cameras that diagnose, your support has helped people around the world. Thanks to you, Seva has provided vital eye care services to 57 million people in the world, including more than 6.5 million people in the last year alone. Seva’s vision is a world in which no one lives with avoidable blindness.
As a global public health organization, we experience all sorts of obstacles in our pursuit of bringing equitable eye care to communities where it is most needed: geographic isolation, economic insecurity, and even war, to name a few. With your support, we work to overcome these barriers – and travel that last mile.