Projects
Vision Screening and Glasses
EFA offers underprivileged children and adults affordable vision screening services to identify potential eyesight issues early. When it comes to children, many do not notice when symptoms of a vision problem arise, so these kinds of routine tests are very important.
If a serious issue presents itself, we will seek to treat it via surgery. Most often, all the problem will demand is a prescription for eyeglasses, which we draw up for the patient before providing them with glasses to wear going forward.
Free Cataract Surgeries
In developed nations, the average age of a patient needing cataract surgery is 70. In India and other developing nations, it is far lower. Children in these countries often require cataract surgery due to infection, birth defects, and malnutrition.
In time, the visual distortion caused by a cataract can create abnormal connections between the brain and the eye, often resulting in loss of vision. Once made, these connections are irreversible.
100,000 Lives Campaign
Suffering from diabetes often increases the risk of developing severe eye problems. Cataracts develop earlier in life, the risk of glaucoma doubles, and small blood vessel damage (diabetic retinopathy) can occur.
The goal of the 100,000 Lives Campaign is to reach at least that number of rural diabetic Indians experiencing or at risk of diabetic retinopathy. This is why the EFA has helped to build the Goutami Eye Institute, which has a wing dedicated exclusively to children, and works to promote early detection of diabetic retinopathy in those without access to adequate medical care.
