Sydney based Vinod Daniel, who is the President of India Vision Institute, was recently in the Indian state of Mizoram, where the institute conducted a vision screening program. We caught up with Mr Daniel to know more about this initiative.
India Vision Institute (IVI) is an independent, not-for-profit, established in 2012. It is an initiative of the L V Prasad Eye Institute of Hyderabad and the Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney. It is focused on supporting and promoting eye health awareness, research, education and technological development in Indian optometry to advance capacity in vision correction, and prevention of eye disease and blindness. One of its priorities is avoiding cases of “preventable” blindness through timely intervention, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
India vision institute has so far conducted over 350 vision screening programs in and around Chennai and other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Pondicherry, West Bengal, New Delhi, Haryana, and Mizoram. According to the institute, over 160,000 individuals from the underprivileged communities (including over 100,000 children) were screened and free spectacles distributed to over 18000 people, around half of whom were children.
