New Directions in the SightFirst Program,
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Linda Romano-Derr
Regional Program Specialist, South Asia
September 17, 2012
Lions Clubs International (LCI)
and Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)
• World’s largest voluntary service organization
o 1.35 million members worldwide, in 46,000 clubs
in 207 countries
• Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)
o Humanitarian arm of LCI
o Established in 1968
o Primary service aims:
• Humanitarian Services
• Blindness prevention
• Disaster relief and reconstruction
• Children’s health and welfare
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
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
VISION FOR ALL
SightFirst I versus SightFirst II
SF I:
SF II:
•
Less complex projects, with
one or two activities
•
Large-scale projects reaching a larger target
population
•
Local situation considered in
the development of a
project, but little knowledge
of the eye care priorities of
the country or region
•
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
•
•
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
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.
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
 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
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.
SightFirst portfolio
SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives
 Cataract
 Childhood Blindness
 Service Delivery
 Trachoma
 Education &
Rehabilitation for Blind
& Low vision Persons
 Eye Health Education
 Low Vision
 Human Resource Development
 Infrastructure Development
 URE
 Comprehensive
Regional Training
 Prevention
 Diabetic Retinopathy
 River Blindness
 Monitoring & Evaluation
 Research
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.
Objectives
SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives
 Cataract
Detection
 Service Delivery
 Childhood Blindness
Treatment
 Trachoma
Rehabilitation
 Education &
Rehabilitation for Blind
& Low vision Persons
 Human Resource
Development
Eye Care Professionals
Community Health Workers
 Eye Health Education
 Low Vision
Survey
 Infrastructure Development
School Teachers
Equipment
 URE
 Comprehensive
Regional Training
Expansion
 Prevention
Advocacy
 Diabetic Retinopathy
Public Relations
 River Blindness
Education Materials
 Research
 Monitoring & Evaluation
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.
 Getting involved in into new focus areas:
 Research
 Education and training for blind/VI
 Outreach to vulnerable populations*
www.lcif.org
THANK YOU