After initial pilot projects in Nepal with great support from our CareNetram team in India, it quickly became clear that the people there have a great need for glasses, especially reading glasses!
Glasses issued
vision tests carried out
On-site employees
program start
As in many countries in the global south, access to eye care is a real challenge in Nepal. There are too few doctors and specialists, and the geographical location does not make things any easier. Nepal extends over three large zones: the Terai, the midlands and the high mountains – and even altitudes of over 4000 meters are still populated. So how can people in these remote regions be supplied with glasses?
As early as 2023, GoodVision Asia Coordinator Antje Christ took her first steps towards Nepal with the aim of finding an experienced partner for GoodVision Nepal. She has now succeeded: Together with the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, GoodVision Nepal is currently preparing the first eye camps. Tilganga has been running an eye clinic in Kathmandu since 1994 and treats more than 1,200 people every day there and in other district hospitals and rural eye centers.
In addition, there are numerous eye camps in the mountain regions every year – a logistical feat, as the locations can often only be reached after days of traveling. Until now, Tilganga has concentrated on people with cataracts, with operations being performed either directly on site or in the few clinics.
This is exactly where GoodVision Nepal comes in: With our own team, we will carry out eye tests in the camps and distribute GoodVision Glasses directly on site.
As GoodVision Country Manager, Prativa Devkota is the contact person for EinDollarBrille Germany. In Nepal, Prativa forms the bridge to our project partner Tilganga Institute. She has a Master's degree in optometry and has already gained a lot of experience in various eye clinics and eye camps in the mountain regions of Nepal. Prativa lives in Kathmandu.
There are great challenges ahead of us, but also countless opportunities to change lives.