Development Blog

Vision Aid Overseas

I am extremely proud to be writing the first blog post for the new Vision Aid Overseas website: visionaidoverseas.org. I have been an Honorary Vice President of the charity for eight years, and in that time I have been delighted by the progress of the organisation and the enormous difference it has had on people in some of the world’s poorest countries.

I believe that vision is a subject close to all our hearts, but good sight is a faculty many people take entirely for granted. However, in high income countries we are fortunate to have access to high quality eye care delivered by trained professionals.

It is a very different story for over half a billion of the world’s population. It seems almost unbelievable that today, 670 million people are disadvantaged or disabled purely because they lack access to basic eye care. Not having the spectacles they need can prevent adults from being able to work or support their families, and denies children their chance of receiving an education.

Uncorrected refractive error is a hugely under-reported, but highly solvable problem. For as little as £5 a child can be given correctly prescribed glasses and for £20 a community health worker can be trained to provide simple eye care services all year round. For the last 27 years, Vision Aid Overseas has been working to give everyone the right to good eye sight, and so far has helped over 1 million people to see.  Every year the charity transforms thousands of patients’ lives, and the new website will help document and connect people all over the world with the outstanding work that the charity does overseas.

I hope you will enjoy visiting the new site and reading about the life-changing work of Vision Aid Overseas.