Sunday Times 2
Etisalat links up with ‘So Others May See’ for vision care
View(s):The Vision 2020 Secretariat of the Ministry of Health recently released the National Survey of Blindness, Visual Impairment, Ocular Morbidity and Disability in Sri Lanka. According to their findings, Sri Lanka has a prevalence rate of 1.7 % in blindness. This means 1.7% of Sri Lankans aged 40 and above are blind in both eyes.
State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene who is also President of 'So Others May See' project is seen here with Etisalat Chief Commercial Officer Yasser Aboul Mayem and a schoolgirl
Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness and Sri Lanka has a backlog of over 1million Cataract surgeries in the last five years. Refractive errors, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and blindness are among the other causes of vision impairment in the country. Although most cases of cataracts are related to the aging process, occasionally children can be born with the condition, or a cataract may develop after eye injuries, inflammation, and some other eye diseases.
The ‘Denethakata Senehasak’campaign is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) component of Etisalat Lanka. With the brand’s continued partnership with So Others May see Inc. (SOMS), Etisalat has been involved in supporting Sri Lanka’s efforts in working towards the elimination of cataracts and vision impairment,which is the primary cause of preventable blindness. The brand had previously advocated the cause of safeguarding the country’s vision through their annual ‘Spectacle Dansala’ project to provide free spectacles to those in need. The project has conducted vision screening for people across Sri Lanka who lack access to timely eye care and helped restore the sight of individuals while donating over 8,800 spectacles.
The campaign was launched at the Attanagalla and Gampaha Education divisions where 78,612 school children from 98 schools were screened for vision impairments. Approximately 900 students benefited from receiving custom-made prescription spectacles, while 221 students were referred to regional eye hospitals.
Chief Commercial Officer of Etisalat Lanka Yasser Aboul Amayem said Etisalat intends to continue and expand this CSR initiative by eventually focusing on extending the programme to all parts of the country. “There are many people in our community, especially the younger generation, who are deprived of clear vision due to difficulties. We are proud to partner with SOMS once again to conduct this programme to eliminate avoidable vision defects and blindness.”
“An organization such as Etisalat can behave as a pillar of support to increase public awareness and also support the cause by providing individuals from low income families with aid to restore their sight through initiatives such as “Denethakata Senehasak” said President of SOMS. State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene.
State Minister Wijewardene stated that this year they hope to achieve their target of providing free eye care services to over 12,000 individuals, including both adults and children. “We believe that everyone deserves to continue living a productive and meaningful life and we are happy to partner with Etisalat Lanka, who have supported our cause and are partnering with us to conduct this project,” he said.
Etisalat hopes that through these initiatives, they are able to significantly contribute to reducing the number of persons suffering from preventable blindness via more efficient screening, eye care services and the provision of surgeries and spectacles to correct vision impairments in the elderly as well as the young.
“We have received immense help from Etisalat to conduct these programmes with Vision 2020 Secretariat of Ministry of Health, thus providing sight to many who previously could not see,” said the State Minister.