(PRESS RELEASE) SAN FRANCISCO — RestoringVision has been awarded a $4 million grant from Founders Pledge to address presbyopia at scale in India and Nigeria. This investment will enable RestoringVision to implement three large-scale initiatives with its partners to provide reading glasses to 2.5 million people living in poverty with uncorrected presbyopia.
RestoringVision focuses on addressing presbyopia at scale. Presbyopia is a naturally occurring, age-related eye condition that affects billions of people worldwide, including 800 million who have limited access to vision care. The organization aims to increase income potential, alleviate poverty, and foster sustained impact in India and Nigeria – two of the largest countries in the world – by increasing access to vision screening and reading glasses.
The programs include the following:
India: RestoringVision will collaborate with Supreme Task India, an NGO focused on access to affordable healthcare, to provide 500,000 adults aged 35-65 working in visually intensive occupations in Odisha state – one of the poorest states in India – with vision screenings and reading glasses. These include tailors, weavers, mechanics, carpenters, and farmers among others, to enable them to see clearly and continue the work.
Nigeria: Two million people will receive vision screenings and reading glasses in Nigeria through two initiatives to scale access to clear sight. This will be the largest contribution to date to advance the Nigerian Presidential Initiative that aims to reach five million Nigerians with glasses over the next several years.
RestoringVision will work with the Government of Nigeria’s National Eye Health Programme, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and other partners to supply one million reading glasses for programs reaching people living in poverty with presbyopia and provide technical support to help this initiative succeed.
In addition, RestoringVision will partner with the Christian Health Association of Nigeria (CHAN) to provide vision screenings and reading glasses to one million adults engaged in visually intensive occupations. The program will leverage Nigeria’s faith-based health systems – tapping into CHAN’s nationwide network of faith-based hospitals, clinics, and community outreach organizations, in collaboration with faith leaders from Nigeria’s Christian and Muslim communities.
The far-reaching initiative in Nigeria will support insights into how to address presbyopia at scale in a large country and inform how we can solve the vision crisis globally.
By partnering with national and local organizations and leveraging its existing networks, RestoringVision’s model is consistent with the World Health Organization’s recommendation to address presbyopia at the community and primary level.
“Thanks to this transformative grant from Founders Pledge we are thrilled to be able to scale up our presbyopia programs in India and Nigeria so that more people will be able to see clearly. This grant not only enables us to reach millions more people with the gift of clear sight but also fosters a broader global community of changemakers dedicated to creating a world where everyone who needs glasses has them. It is taking us a significant step forward towards solving the global vision crisis,” said Pelin Munis, Ph.D., CEO of RestoringVision.
These initiatives build upon RestoringVision’s 20 years of experience providing innovative solutions to the global vision crisis that bring immediate and sustained impacts. A recent study carried out in Bangladesh showed a 33% median increase in income for people in a wide range of visually intensive occupations who received reading glasses. By utilizing cost-effective strategies and leveraging partnerships, RestoringVision aims to improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of underserved individuals.