The LV Prasad Institute turns 25: vision for the future and reflection on achievements so far

Abstract

‘So that all may see’ is an audacious goal in a nation where 800 million live in villages where water, food and healthcare are part of the daily struggle. While soft drink and shampoo sellers have penetrated the ‘bottom of the pyramid’, quality eye-care providers have not. To reach this goal the LV Prasad Eye Institute was started in 1987 in Hyderabad, India, as a nonprofit quality eye care center. Guided by the mission of ‘excellence with equity’ to serve the needs of the community, and in partnership with them, LV Prasad Eye Institute has developed an eye health pyramid. This pyramidal approach has served over 15 million people, predominantly rural. The features and the sustainability of this model are discussed.

Keywords::

• equitable and sustainable eye care
• eye health pyramid
• so that all may see
• village vision complex
• vision center
• vision guardian
• vision technician

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• • Rural India has problems of accessibility, availability and affordability of quality eye care. About 75% of the blindness burden in India is treatable, preventable and manageable.

• • We have learnt that establishing permanent eye care units of increasing levels of clinical expertise, in partnership with the local community, helps in winning over such forms of needless blindness. This has been the basis of the LVP eye care pyramid.

• • Involvement, partnership and ownership by the community in the goal ‘so that all may see’ appear to promise long-term sustainability of quality eye care in an equitable fashion.

• • For sustainability and quality care, capacity building at all levels of eye care is vital- be it dispensing glasses or retinal prosthesis. Education and up-dating skill levels are a core component of quality eye care.

• • Relevant and focused research becomes important in order to understand, manage and treat age-related ocular disorders and diabetic complications–diseases of relevance to India.

• • This six-armed approach, namely: (a) efficient and equitable clinical care, (b) outreach to cater to rural India in a sustained manner, (c) researching on eye care problems relevant to the region, (d) capacity building, (e) visual rehabilitation and (f) eye bank, has enabled LVP to cater to over 15 million needy people during the last 25 years.

Notes