The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation announced its partnership with the Government of Madhya Pradesh and JHPIEGO to integrate eye care services within Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs), increasing accessibility to critical vision care within Madhya Pradesh.
The partnership builds on the existing "Ayushman Bharat" government scheme ensuring the availability of comprehensive primary healthcare through a network of more than 150,000 HWCs across the country.
Around 550 million people in India - more than 43% of the country's population - suffer from uncorrected poor vision costing the national economy an estimated INR 300K Cr in lost productivity every year. Integrating vision care services and solutions within existing healthcare touchpoints provides the nation with the opportunity to manage the incidence of uncorrected poor vision and create opportunities for its citizens, across different stages of life.
The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation will work closely with partners to ensure primary vision care services are delivered to a high stranded through the Eye Mitra network, while strengthening linkages with referral centres for the effective management of eye care conditions requiring specialized support. Innovative solutions and technology for greater impact will be trialled in this program with tele-refraction and tele-ophthalmology pilots planned by the partners.
The implementation of this partnership comes following the success of the pioneer initiative in Odisha, where 73 Eye Mitras supported 196 HWCs. As a result of these efforts, 11,000 people were provided with glasses, free of charge.
