Urban Eye Health Programme



Organisation

Sightsavers India

Location

Patna, Bihar, India

Population

2.4 million1

Growth Rate

1.98%2

Key Stakeholders

  • Older People

  • Disabled People

  • Informal Residents

  • Informal Workers

Older People Disabled People Informal Residents Informal Workers

Other Stakeholders

  • Local NGOs, CSOs, CBOs

  • City Authorities

  • Other Service Providers

  • State / Federal Actors

  • Professional Associations

Local NGOs, CSOs, CBOs City Authorities Other Service Providers State ; Federal Actors Professional Associations

Relevant SDGS

  • 3 Good Health
  • 5 Gender Equality
  • 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Disruption

City and Sector

City and Sector

Scaleability

National

National

Summary

Ensuring eye health is integrated within the urban public health system in Patna, Bihar for ease of access for urban poor populations, especially slum communities.


Context

  • The City of Patna, Bihar, has 110 listed slums with around 110,000 inhabitants.3

  • Prior to September 2019, the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) did not cater to the eye health needs of the urban slum population in Patna.

  • Government-accredited community health workers were not oriented on primary eye health services, the Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) also did not provide these services, and cataract surgery services were only available for hospital walk-ins.


Interview

In this interview, RN Mohanty, Chief Executive Officer of Sightsavers India, tells us why this programme in Bihar represents a first of its kind – both for Sightsavers and in India – as a highly scaleable new model for integrating primary eye health services into urban public primary health services. RN explains why it is important for an organisation like Sightsavers to work in partnership with government to show what is possible in terms of improved service delivery for urban poor communities and how integration into the public health system will work, and supporting the government as the best placed actor to scale up to other cities.

 

Go and integrate your things, your ideas, your initiatives with the government ideas and make sure that you demonstrate something, and then government is the best player to scale up.

RN Mohanty

Chief Executive Officer, Sightsavers India

There was a tendency to neglect eye health, saying that this can wait…so we’re now making sure this really doesn’t have to wait, it’s very nearby, go and do it!

RN Mohanty

Chief Executive Officer, Sightsavers India


Key Programme Activities

  • Community engagement

  • Data/technology

  • Education/behaviour change

  • Policy/advocacy

  • Improved service delivery

  • Stakeholder co-ordination, network-building

  • Technical support


Key Outcomes

Since 2019, through this programme:

  • Patna now has 23 Vision Centres flourishing in 23 Urban Primary Health Centres.

  • From September 2019-20, community health workers screened 48,557 people and optometrists in the Vision Centres provided primary eye health treatments to 16,318 patients. 2,768 people were identified for onward referral for hospital cataract surgery and 6,336 people were prescribed spectacles.

  • Additional diabetes screening and referral services are also provided from within the urban public health system.

  • The Government of India has acknowledged this work as the first of its kind in India where primary eye health services have been integrated into urban primary health services. Sightsavers is already planning to replicate the Patna model with government in 20 cities, including Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kolkata.

  • Photo Credits
  •  – Sightsavers India

Innovation Report     2020

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