Children, love your eyes …
SA Eyecare Coalition Outreach:
Underberg: Thurs 10 October
for
World Sight Day
Thursday 10 October 2024
Five major civil society partners whose combined expertise comprises the South African Eyecare Coalition, an umbrella body driving meaningful eye health, worked together with coalition partner The SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) KZN in an outreach programme to provide vision screening for children in Underberg on Thursday 10 October – as their commitment to October being World Sight Month, 2024.
Their initiative took place at the Clouds of Hope children’s home in Underberg, KZN. 149 patients were seen – 126 children and 23 Foster Parents/Caretakers living at the home. Children from schools located in Bulwer area, over 35 km away, were transported to participate in the event. Approximately 60 spectacles have been prescribed.
Zesizwe Mncwabe: Clouds of Hope General Manager said that although the centre is being supported by a monthly mobile clinic, children are referred to the nearby hospital which is St Appollonaris, approximately 45 minutes’ drive away. “However today at least 53 children from the centre were afforded the opportunity to be examined by an optometrist which ensures a faster turnaround time in receiving care. We are so grateful,” she said.
This is the third major intervention organised by the Eye Care Coalition: in 2022, they were in Northern KwaZulu-Natal; last year they were in Kokstad and this year they were in Underberg.
October is traditionally World Sight Month which reinforces awareness about the importance of eye health. Every person on the planet will experience an eye health issue at some point in their lives, but the reality is that more than a billion people do not have access to eye care services to correct, treat or prevent vision loss. World Sight Dayvwas on Thursday 12 October, and the focus this year is on children and eye care with the theme: “Children love your eyes.”
The five founding members of the Coalition are African Eye Institute: an Africa-wide, non-profit development organisation; SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) a non-profit aero-medical rescue organisation with more than 55 years of expertise in the aero-medical sector; OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation who have an innovative approach to philanthropy, partnerships and raising awareness to create sustainable access to vision care; St. John who operates 12 Eye Care Centres across South Africa and has been providing eye care services to the public for over 70 years by providing professional comprehensive eye testing and quality eyewear at affordable prices; the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness is an international alliance working to promote eye health, with more than 150 organisations in over 100 countries.
“South African Eyecare Coalition is dedicated to promoting eye health and increasing accessibility of services to millions of under-served South Africans by advocating for eye health at the highest levels. The Coalition, which was created in 2022, aims to provide a scalable, cost-effective approach to eye health, including the delivery of free, high-quality or low-cost eye care and vision services across the country, with a particular emphasis on children and marginalised communities’” explained Coalition spokesperson, Prof. Kovin Naidoo from OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation.
“A formal coalition of this magnitude was created to address the overwhelming eye care needs across the country. This process once again reminds us that working together makes all participants stronger and more effective,” he continued. “The intention is for there to be many more of these type of outreach initiatives to bring eyecare to needy communities going forward,” he said.