Final Report for Focusing Philanthropy

Transcription

1 Final Report for Focusing Philanthropy World Sight Day 2015 Prepared by Seva Foundation Screening a patient, Quasem Foundation, Bangladesh 1

2 Table of Contents Grant Summary Data Summary...5 Patient Features Partner Highlight.15 World Sight Day Snapshots.16 Concluding Note.18 2

3 Grant Summary According to the World Health Organization, there are 285 million visually impaired and 39 million blind individuals around the world. To advocate for the prevention of global blindness and the Vision 2020 goals, the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness created World Sight Day, an annual day of awareness that brings international attention to the issues of blindness and visual impairment. World Sight Day is an important advocacy and communications opportunity for the eye health community. It is a chance to engage with a wide audience and show why eye health deserves attention. World Sight Day 2015 was held on October 8, This year s call to action was Eye Care For All. Key strategies included increasing awareness of this major public health issue, mobilizing additional resources, controlling the major causes of avoidable blindness, training eye care personnel, and providing appropriate technology and infrastructure. Hundreds of events take place throughout the world to mark this occasion. To raise awareness, many of Seva s partners campaign across their service regions and hold an annual day of free cataract surgery. They are not only able to bring in hundreds of individuals needing comprehensive eye care, but also advocate for the prevention of blindness to a larger audience through parades, banners, announcements and media. In celebration of World Sight Day (WSD), Focusing Philanthropy and Seva have been engaged in matching fundraising campaigns for the last four years. In 2012, $181,000 was donated to Focusing Philanthropy to fund a special WSD cataract surgery campaign implemented by Seva that resulted in 4,208 operations in 6 countries. In 2013, $200,000 was raised and deployed to fund the construction, equipping and introduction of a Secondary Eye Care Center/hospital (SECC) and a Primary Eye Care Center (PECC) in eastern Nepal. For 2014, a matching campaign of $339,489 supported 7,322 cataract surgeries. This year, a grand total of $511,557 in donations resulted in 8,088 surgeries. In the last 4 years, Focusing Philanthropy s efforts have resulted in $1,232,046 in matching grants and over 20,000 surgeries performed! The initial goal for Seva and Focusing Philanthropy s World Sight Day 2015 initiative was for Seva to seek donations of $230,000 from a set of targeted donors, which would be matched dollar for dollar by Focusing Philanthropy for a total of $460,000. This would enable 7,400 surgeries and the purchase of $90,000 in critically needed equipment. With an outpouring of donors expressing a desire to support the World Sight Day 2015 campaign, Focusing Philanthropy and Seva ultimately raised $511,557. This enabled 8,088 3

4 surgeries and the purchase of almost $130,000 in vital ophthalmic equipment and surgical supplies for several programs. Seva consulted partners based on their participation in last year s campaign and identified a surgery and equipment allocation plan given their annual goals. Seva then notified partners of surgery, equipment and funding allocations, which was the basis of a written agreement between Seva and the partner. Following World Sight Day 2015, Seva collected data reports, patient stories and photos to be compiled for the Focusing Philanthropy final report. Most of the surgeries were completed on or within days of World Sight Day October 8, 2015 while the rest of the surgeries were completed during the last quarter of 2014 through March This gave the partners time to schedule surgeries around other important programmatic activities, such as eye camps and outreach visits. Partners shared that they appreciated the funds for equipment, which have long-term value, and were happy to support patients through these generous grants. The matching grant from Focusing Philanthropy enabled Seva partners to have a strong World Sight Day As highlighted in the programmatic activities and patient stories shared below, Seva partners educated their communities about global blindness and visual impairment, created awareness of available eye care services and provided cataract and other surgeries to patients in need. Most importantly, this grant helped patients to regain the independence and dignity that they had lost due to poor vision and blindness. Thank you once again for your generous support in making World Sight Day 2012, 2013, 2014, and now 2015 such a success! 4

5 Data Summary Partner Participation for World Sight Day 2015 Surgeries and Equipment Purchases: 13 Countries, 20 Partners 1. Bangladesh: a. Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital (Islamia)- Adult, Pediatric b. Grameen Healthcare Services c. Quasem Foundation 2. Cambodia: Seva Cambodia Adult, Pediatric (Surgeries + Equipment) 3. Egypt: Magrabi Foundation 4. Ethiopia: Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO)- Trachoma Trichiasis Surgeries (TT Surgeries) 5. Guatemala: Visualiza 6. India: a. Vivekananda Mission Asram Netra Niramay Niketan (VMANNN) b. Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya (SNC) c. Aravind Eye Care System (AECS) d. LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) e. Dr. Shroff s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH)- Adult, Pediatric f. Poona Blind Men s Association HV Desai (HV Desai) 7. Nepal: Seva Nepal (Surgeries+Equipment) 8. Pakistan: Comprehensive Health Education Forum, Intl. (CHEF) 9. Paraguay: Fundación Visión 5

6 10. Peru: Divino Niño Jesús (DNJ) 11. Tanzania: Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO) 12. Tibet: Seva Tibet (Equipment only) 13. USA: Kewa Pueblo Health Corporation, United Indian Health Services (Equipment only) Sight-Restoring Surgeries Performed by Country: Country Partner Target Achieved Bangladesh Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital, Grameen Health Care Services, Quasem Foundation Number of Cataract Surgeries Performed by Country Cambodia Seva Cambodia* 1,125 1,150 Egypt Magrabi Foundation Ethiopia Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology- TT Surgeries Guatemala Visualiza India Vivekananda Mission Ashram Netra Niramay Niketan, Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Aravind Eye Care System, HV Desai, Dr. Shroff's Charity 3,150 3,152 Eye Hospital Nepal Seva Nepal 850 1,250 Pakistan Comprehensive Health Education Forum, Intl Paraguay Fundación Visión Peru Divino Niño Jesús* Tanzania Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology Total * These two partners have completed services, but will submit reporting by April. Graphically: 7,650 8,088 India Nepal Cambodia Bangladesh Peru Paraguay Guatemala Egypt Tanzania Pakistan Ethiopia ,250 1,150 3, ,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 6

7 Sight-Restoring Surgeries Performed by Gender: Country Partner AF AM CF CM Total Bangladesh Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital, Grameen Health Care Services, Quasem Foundation Cambodia Seva Cambodia* 1,150 Egypt Magrabi Foundation Ethiopia Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology- TT Surgeries Guatemala Visualiza India Vivekananda Mission Ashram Netra Niramay Niketan, Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Aravind Eye Care System, HV Desai, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital 1,638 1, ,152 Nepal Seva Nepal ,250 Pakistan Comprehensive Health Education Forum, Intl Paraguay Fundación Visión Peru Divino Niño Jesús* 275 Tanzania Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology Total 3,490 3, ,088 * Does not include data by gender as these numbers are still being reported. AF: Adult Female; AM: Adult Male; CF: Child Female; CM: Child Male 7

8 Graphically: Surgeries Performed by Gender Adult Male 46.08% Adult Female 53.03% Children 1% Child Male 0.52% Child Female 0.37% Over the course of this campaign, 8,088 surgeries were performed and several pieces of ophthalmic equipment were purchased across 13 countries and 20 partners. The surgery target was exceeded by over 400 surgeries. Of the surgeries performed, the majority of patients were female, addressing a great need in eye care, as mostly women face the burden of visual impairment. In addition, over 250 children were treated during this campaign. Since many children do not attend school due to embarrassment or difficulty in seeing the board, this is a big achievement toward keeping children in school. By addressing the need of screening school-aged children, partners are providing primary and preventative eye care. Due to the concentration of partners in India, a high volume of surgeries were performed there. A total of 3,152 surgeries were performed across all parts of India, representing one third of the number of surgeries done globally as part of the World Sight Day 2015 campaign. As India is a country that faces a growing population and incidence of cataract, this number is a great step towards eliminating preventable blindness. Finally, the equipment portion of the grant provided partners with opportunities to screen and treat additional patients. The equipment allocation was as follows: Equipment Country Partner Description USA American Indian Sight Initiative- Kewa Pueblo Health Corporation (KEWA) New Mexico and United Indian Health Services (UIHS) California Autorefracter/keratometer, Optical coherence tomography (OCT) with pachymetry capability, Zeiss topographer, Icare tonometer 8

9 Tibet Seva Tibet Zeiss operating microscope, Slit lamp, surgical instruments Cambodia Seva Cambodia Cataract Sets, A-scan Nepal Seva Nepal Slit lamp, Ophthalmoscope, Retinoscope, Trial Sets, Edging Machine Partners were glad to receive much needed equipment to help support their eye hospitals and clinics. This equipment would otherwise have to be fundraised for through traditional channels and potentially remain unfunded. Through the generosity of the Focusing Philanthropy campaign, more patients who suffer with visual impairment can now be screened and fully examined through functioning slit lamps, be measured accurately for correct lens implant selection for cataract surgery with new A-scans, be efficiently screened for refractive errors using autorefractors, and have their glasses made locally in rural primary eye care clinics by equipping their optical labs. Left: Mr. Ratana provides A-scan to Hospital Director of Battambang Referral Hospital (Cambodia). Right: Mr. Ratana with Hospital Director, Dr. Bun Eang and staff checking new A-scan at Battambang eye unit Other patients will now be able to receive testing for intraocular pressure to detect glaucoma with new tonometers. Surgical supplies and instruments are also making a huge difference where just one set of cataract surgical instruments alone can be used to provide surgery for at least 500 individuals. These instruments and medical devices will continue to serve our programs and partners and ultimately the patients they serve, long after the campaign. Cataract Set 9

10 Patient s Name: José Ignacio Aristiqui Age: 10 Sex: Male Diagnosis: Bilateral Congenital Cataract Description of where service offered (e.g. camp, hospital): Screened at Camp, Treated at Hospital Country: Paraguay Partner: Fundación Visión José Ignacio is only 10 years old and lives in a village 10 km from Yaguarón by a dirt road that is impassable when it rains. José s parents abandoned him when he was only 2 years old and he is cared for by his grandparents. He and his grandmother are inseparable. Patient Features On October 6, 2015, the department of Salud Comunitaria of Fundación Visión made a consultation visit in the community where José lives. During their visit, he presented a visual acuity of only hand movement in both eyes and was diagnosed with congenital cataract. Fundación Visión made the trip to José s community to bring him, along with his grandparents, to the Central Clinic of Fundación Visión in Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay. Under the tutelage of his grandparents and the surgeons of the Fundación Visión, surgery was scheduled for his left eye on November 17, On November 18, the day after surgery on the left eye, the right eye was operated on by the same surgeons. After a full-week of recovery, José Ignacio was discharged and returned home. Prior to his surgery, José loved to play football and did join his friends in kicking the ball. However, his blindness made playing football incredibly challenging. He would listen for the approaching ball, but had difficulty kicking the ball. With much anticipation, he eagerly awaits to play football with perfect vision! He also wants to go to school with his friends from the community. In March, at age 10, he will start learning to read and write. In mid-december, we checked on José s eye condition. His visual acuity was 20/30 in the left eye, and 20/40 in the right eye. With much enthusiasm, he is preparing to go to school beginning in. This humble family, not imagining that a cure existed for their beloved grandson, thanks the surgeons and the entire team of Fundación Visión for the demonstration of affection, love and concern for José s care and recovery. The family also thanks donors Seva Foundation and Focusing Philanthropy who have contributed to this change, not only in José s life, but throughout José s generation. 10

11 Patient s Name: Kanisha Age: 10 Sex: Female Diagnosis: Bilateral Cataract Description of where service offered (e.g. camp, hospital): Screened at Camp, Treated at Hospital Country: India Partner: Dr. Shroff s Charity Eye Hospital Ten-year-old Kanisha came to Dr. Shroff s Charity Eye Hospital s eye camp with congenital bilateral cataract. She was totally blind in both eyes and was completely dependent on her mother and other siblings for her daily needs. She had to be escorted everywhere, as she kept tumbling and falling over things. No other children would play with her, and as a result she stopped attending school. Her parents were very worried for her as they are very poor, living in a hut on the roadside, doing odd jobs, and manage to earn only enough for 2 meals a day. It was the end of the road for Kanisha as she was being hurtled toward blindness with no future. Fortunately someone told her family about the eye camp. Kanisha s eyes were screened by the hospital team and immediately she was scheduled for surgery at Dr. Shroff s Charity Eye hospital in Delhi. Each of her eyes was operated on and her vision was restored. Now that she can see and play like other children and she is beaming with happiness. Her parents are relieved and keep thanking the hospital staff and the supporters of the hospital who contributed towards the treatment of their daughter. 11

12 Patient s Name: Smt.Fulabai Janardhan Nagare Age: 64 Sex: Female Occupation (current or former): Works as Cook and Sweeper at a Temple in Pune Diagnosis: Bilateral Cataract Description of where service offered (e.g. camp, hospital): Camp Country: India Partner: PBMA s H V Desai Eye Hospital, Pune Fulabai Janardhan Nagare is a widow. Her children and other family members neglect her, so she has to work for her survival. She works as a cook and sweeper at one of the temples in Jujari, which is 45 kilometers away from Pune city. She was totally dependent on the caretaker of the temple. Since the last few months she was unable to see properly, unable to do her routine work and unable to clean the temple area properly. As she was the only one in the temple who cleans and cooks for other staff, even the temple caretaker was not in a position to help her. With the help of one of the staff of the temple, she went to a nearby primary health center. The ophthalmic officer of the center examined her and diagnosed her to have significant cataract in both eyes, advising cataract operation as soon as possible. HV Desai Eye Hospital s (HVDEH) vehicle brought Fulabai to the hospital. Preoperative work was completed on the 6 th of December and she was operated on the 7 th of December 2015 at HVDEH. Small Incision Cataract Surgery was performed in her right eye by Dr. Snehal Ghadge. For the patient, accommodation, food, transportation and post-operative medications were given free of cost. Thanks to the support of Focusing Philanthropy and Seva Foundation, needy patients were operated on free of cost at charitable eye hospitals like ours. Now Fulabai will be able to do her routine, work independently and continue to live and work in temple premises with dignity. She says You are just like God to me. Just because of you I can see and because of this I can work and I can live my life independently. 12

13 Patient s Name: Hanif Ali Age: 60 Sex: Male Occupation (current or former): Small Entrepreneur Diagnosis: Bilateral Cataract Description of where service offered (e.g. camp, hospital): Mondoler hat Primary School, Kurigram Country: Bangladesh Partner: Quasem Foundation/ Marium Eye Hospital Hanif felt a bit of a problem in his left eye one year ago. Then four months ago, he was unable to see clearly from a long distance. He found out that he was gradually losing sight in both eyes and he was unable to identify anything. He came for to an eye camp of Marium Eye Hospital at Mondoler hat Primary School for a checkup. The doctor found that he had cataract in both eyes that needed to be operated. Since he had cataract in both eyes, Hanif s family life was badly affected. He was more or less unable to do any of his daily work. By profession, Hanif is a small entrepreneur who does not have much income. He fell into difficulties to maintain his family. He could not work for the last year due to his vision problem, as he was unable to see the surroundings and could not even recognize people. Thus Hanif faced huge problems. Due to the cataract, Hanif became mostly dependent on his wife. Hanif was unable to do all of his routine daily chores, including bathing, going outside, gardening, taking care of his cows, and his wife had to help him do all this. This was very difficult for her, because this was an additional burden for her on top of her other daily activities. After having the surgery in his left eye, he can see much better now. He is also able to do all his daily chores without help. He can also go to work in the market place selling items. Hanif is now able to take the responsibility of his family. Everyone in the family respects him again. Of course, a lot of changes have come in the family relation and interactions and in the entire life of Hanif after his surgery. He has started his normal daily life after getting back his eye sight. As he is able to do all his work by himself and can also earn for his family now, his wife is also happy and the entire family is not suffering anymore. 13

14 Patient s Name: Salahuddin Khan Age: 60 Sex: Male Occupation (current or former): Taxi cab driver Description of where service offered (e.g. camp, hospital): Haji Yaqoob Eye Care Centre Peshawar (A project of CHEF International) Country: Pakistan Partner: Comprehensive Health Education Forum, International Salahuddin recognized the problem one year ago, when he was having difficulty driving, especially during the night. The patient further elaborated that: My vision was gradually decreasing and I was feeling gradual decrease in clarity. Once in the beginning I shared my problem with my colleagues but they laughed and said that I should realize that I am getting old. Also due to financial constraints for a very long time I kept this to myself and did not share it with family and other relatives until one night I hit a pole but fortunately did not harm anyone. After then I decided to consult the doctor for my foggy vision. Driving a Taxi Cab is the only source of income for me. I have two kids, one male and one female and both are students, my whole family is dependent on me for each and every thing. Often passengers I served were complaining of my bad driving during the night and after some time my permanent clients started preferring others. It had badly affected my earnings and I was declining financially which resulted in great frustration for me and my family. In later stage I had started taking antidepressant pills. As I was not able to drive my cab due to my vision problem, my son used to drive the cab from afternoon till late evening to earn something to buy food for the next day, and he didn t have enough time to focus on his studies/homework and exams and at that time I was seriously thinking to take him out of school. After Salahuddin s surgery, his depression vanished and he is back to his normal life by going to his job in the morning and giving proper time & care to his family in evening. At his 3rd follow-up visit to the hospital, Salahuddin was very happy and told the doctor his eyesight was as much improved as it was ten years before. With a confident smile he said, It s so amazing, yesterday, I dropped off a couple at a hilly station resort and drove back to my home at night without any hindrance! 14

15 Partner Highlight Comprehensive Health Education Forum, Intl. (CHEF), Pakistan Comprehensive Health and Education Forum (CHEF) International was founded in The inspiration behind the establishment of CHEF International is to provide quality health care and educational services and opportunities to the underprivileged population of the country including persons with disabilities. To reach towards the marginalized segment of the society especially people with disabilities, one of the prime objectives of CHEF International is to campaign and advocate for patients needs and rights, formulate policies and procedures for feasible solutions, mobilize resources and provide needs and rights based services. CHEF International annually celebrates World Sight Day at different projects sites and locations with the support of partners like Focusing Philanthropy. Here s a description of how World Sight Day was celebrated at their institutions: Pakistan Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences (PIRS): World Sight Day was celebrated at PIRS with a number of activities including a community screening, an awareness walk and a seminar. During the campaign, community members of different ages including women and girls were screened for eye complications. They were treated and referred to secondary level services if needed. A school screening camp was arranged at a primary school of village Kalyah, Nailore, Islamabad on world Sight Day by PIRS students. Comprehensive Eye Care Hospital Takht Bhai district Mardan: In celebration of World Sight Day, the eye care hospital organized a seminar and walk. The Eye Care Coordinator CHEF International gave a detailed presentation to increase the awareness regarding eye health to locals, government officials and local humanitarian organization members. Patients visiting the hospital were examined and provided with eye health education. Twenty one cataract surgeries were performed free of cost with a focus on poor and marginalized patients. A walk was also arranged and organized to emphasize the importance of vision and eye care among the general public. Government officials of education, health and population welfare departments participated in the walk. A seminar was also organized at Hasnain Auditorium of ISRA University Islamabad, to raise the awareness of participants on the importance of vision & eye related issues. During the event faculty members, parents and students of PIRS participated in the seminar. An awareness walk was also part of the event to raise awareness among the poor community of Ali Pur & Farash Town Islamabad. Awareness materials were also distributed among locals during the walk. 15

16 District Medical and Rehabilitation Complex (DMRC): District Medical and Rehabilitation Complex is providing public health and disability services both at primary and secondary levels, to the citizens of district Charssada. An awareness session at the local primary school was arranged. A walk and seminar were also part of the celebrations and participated by locals, district nazim, government officials and medical representatives of the district health department. CVC Takht bhai and HY Eye Care Centers: World Sight Day was celebrated by organizing a free eye camp. In total 151 patients visited the camp and 15 cataract cases were operated upon, free of cost. Health education regarding eye health was provided to patients who visited the center. Patients with complicated eye diseases were referred to the tertiary level hospital for further treatment. World Sight Day Snapshots Magrabi Foundation, Egypt CHEF, Pakistan HV Desai, India Grameen, Bangladesh 16

17 AECS Shija, Manipur, India AECS Trilochan, Orissa, India VMANNN- West Bengal, India 17

18 Concluding Note Our partner in Guatemala, Visualiza, created a touching video in honor of their World Sight Day efforts to reach over 250 patients. Their video in Spanish is linked here as a Thank You to Focusing Philanthropy for supporting them and all their patients. 18