New Directions in the SightFirst Program, Lions Clubs International FoundationLinda Romano-DerrRegional Program Specialist, South Asia

New Directions in the SightFirst Program, Lions Clubs International FoundationLinda Romano-DerrRegional Program Specialist, South Asia

September 17, 2012

• World’s largest voluntary service organizationo 1.35 million members worldwide, in 46,000 clubs

in 207 countries

• Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)o Humanitarian arm of LCIo Established in 1968o Primary service aims:

• Humanitarian Services• Blindness prevention• Disaster relief and reconstruction• Children’s health and welfare

Lions Clubs International (LCI)and Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)

SightFirst

• SightFirst is a global initiative with the purpose of eliminating avoidable blindness as a global public health concern

• Mission: To build comprehensive eye care systems to fight the major causes of blindness and care for people who are blind or visually impaired

• SightFirst builds on Lions’ historical concern for the blind and visually impaired (Knights of the Blind)

• 1,064 grants in 102 countries for a total of US$277 million since 1990

SightFirst Accomplishments

• Restored sight to 7.68 million people through cataract surgeries

• 30 million people saved from vision loss

• Provided 147 million treatments for river blindness

• Built or upgraded 702 eye-care facilities

• Trained 659,000 ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, other professional eye care workers and village health workers

• Established 35 pediatric eye care centers, impacting the lives of 121 million children (in partnership with the WHO)

SightFirst Approach

• Controlling blinding diseases• Cataract• River blindness,• Trachoma• Diabetic retinopathy

• Training desperately needed human resources

• Strengthening eye care infrastructure

VISION FOR ALL

SightFirst II: A new direction

3 overarching goals:

1.Control and eliminate major causes of avoidable blindness

2.Combat emerging threats to sight

3.Provide “Vision for All” through research, rehabilitation, and outreach to vulnerable populations

SightFirst I versus SightFirst II

We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.

SF I:

• Less complex projects, with one or two activities

• Local situation considered in the development of a project, but little knowledge of the eye care priorities of the country or region

• Often weak engagement of the Ministry of Health and the national plan for the prevention of blindness

• Little collaboration with other partners working in blindness prevention

SF II:

•Large-scale projects reaching a larger target population

•Complex and comprehensive projects that include aspects of both prevention and treatment

•A well-developed support system in place at the district and regional levels to teach and aid clubs in the development of projects

•Projects consistently developed in partnership with the MOH and within the framework of the national plan; extensive and successful partnerships with many of the leading blindness prevention experts worldwide

Key Principles

1. Develop comprehensive eye care systems

2. Target underserved populations

3. Deliver high-quality eye care services

4. Create sustainable eye care services

5. Use data to identify and evaluate efforts

6. Hands-on Lions involvement

7. Emphasis on strategic partnerships with corporations,

governments and NGOs.

SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives

We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.

Cataract

Childhood Blindness

Trachoma

Education & Rehabilitation for Blind & Low vision Persons

Eye Health Education

Low Vision

URE

Comprehensive Regional Training

Diabetic Retinopathy

River Blindness

Research

SightFirst portfolio

SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives

We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.

Cataract

Childhood Blindness

Trachoma

Education & Rehabilitation for Blind & Low vision Persons

Eye Health Education

Low Vision

URE

Comprehensive Regional Training

Diabetic Retinopathy

River Blindness

Research

Service Delivery

Human Resource Development

Infrastructure Development

Prevention

Monitoring & Evaluation

Objectives

SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives

We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.

Cataract

Childhood Blindness

Trachoma

Education & Rehabilitation for Blind & Low vision Persons

Eye Health Education

Low Vision

URE

Comprehensive Regional Training

Diabetic Retinopathy

River Blindness

Research

Service Delivery

Human Resource Development

Infrastructure Development

Detection

Treatment

Rehabilitation

Survey

Eye Care Professionals

Community Health Workers

School Teachers

Prevention

Equipment

Expansion

Advocacy

Public Relations

Education MaterialsMonitoring & Evaluation

Getting involved in into new focus areas:

Research

Education and training for blind/VI

Outreach to vulnerable populations*

THANK YOUTHANK YOU

www.lcif.org