Optician India

20,000 urban poor in Chennai to get eye care support from India Vision Institute

India Vision Institute announced to provide primary eye care services to an additional 20,000 people from marginalized urban communities in Chennai. Currently, over 300,000 underprivileged people are benefitting annually from IVI’s services.

The significant scaling up has been made possible through the generous support of Five Star Business Finance Limited, which has provided state-of-the-art vision screening equipment. The contribution follows their support of a mobile eye health unit to IVI last year.

The announcement was made at a vision screening camp for the homeless at Tharamani, where Mr. Muneo Takahashi, Consul General of Japan in Chennai, distributed corrective glasses to individuals diagnosed with refractive errors during a screening held earlier in the day. Dr. G Shanthakumari, Chairperson, Standing Committee (Public Health), Greater Chennai Corporation, was also present at the camp.

Emphasizing the importance of accessible healthcare, Mr. Takahashi said, "Good vision is an important aspect of life and the IVI initiative will be a vital step in ensuring that the most vulnerable sections of society have access to essential eye care services."

“There has been Japanese participation in IVI’s activities, including Hoya Vision’s support for professional development programs, notably an IVI leadership program for young professionals and a lecture series aimed at effective strategies for myopia control,” Mr Takahashi added.

IVI’s CEO, Mr. Vinod Daniel, expressed thanks for the support from Five Star Business Finance. "The advanced and sophisticated equipment will enable us to expand our outreach efforts and provide timely, primary eye care to those who need it most," he said.

"The need for primary eye care services still remains large. Improved vision leads to a life of dignity and enhanced productivity for the beneficiaries. I also thank the Japanese Consulate-General for their ongoing support for IVI’s programs,” Mr Daniel added.

Mr Lakshmipathy Dheenadayalan, Chairman & Managing Director of Five Star Business Finance Limited, said "We are proud to support this initiative, which will address the eye health needs of Chennai’s urban poor and homeless populations."