The main projects that GPR ICARE is currently engaged in are:

Reaching out with Innovative Services for Eye Care (RISE)

Funding Support: Siemens Healthineers and LVPEI

Programme duration: 2022 to 2023

The Project RISE (Reaching out with Innovative Services for Eyecare) initiated in Maheshwaram Mandal of Ranga Reddy District in Telangana under the CSR initiative of Siemens Healthineers, India, fulfils the goals set for Universal Eye Health Coverage for All. From providing primary eye screening services at the doorsteps of the community to dispensing spectacles for correction of refractive errors to surgical intervention for cataract, the two leading causes of blindness, project RISE has made comprehensive eye care services accessible and affordable for the community. All the services are being provided at no cost to the community. Special focus is on the vulnerable population - the elderly, women, and children. Low vision rehabilitation services are also being provided. Another unique aspect of this project is the participation of women from the local community as field workers.

This initiative which is in line with World Health Organization (WHO)’s blindness prevention campaign is expected to address the burden of avoidable visual impairment in the entire Maheswaram, Kothur mandal

By the end of the project we aim to achieve a district free from any back-log of cataract surgeries and where the blindness prevalence can be reduced to 0.3% as per WHO guidelines.

Objectives:
  • Securing sight of all population through integrated home-based eye care in a catchment of 50,000 population in Maheshwaram, Kothur Mandal, located in Rangareddy district, Telangana State.

Comprehensive program for Assessment of Refractive Errors and Service provision (LVPEI-CARES) in Siddipet and Siricilla Districts(Telangana), India

Funding Support: USAID-CBP and LVPEI

LVPEI, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has initiated a comprehensive project for the early diagnosis and treatment of children with varied eye problems, including blindness, low vision and correctable refractive errors. The 19-month-long project will cover 125,000 children across 1500+ schools in the Siddipet and Siricilla districts, Telangana. The focus will be on using appropriate technology for screening and providing follow-up care to children and for 2 monitoring and evaluation. For the long-term sustainability of this model, another important objective is the capacity building of all the stakeholders involved (such as school teachers, Anganwadi workers, ASHA health workers, etc.).

Programme duration: July,2021-February,2023

Objectives:
  • Capacity building of stakeholders to identify and treat children with visual impairment (VI), low vision or blindness
  • Create awareness and facilitate all required interventions to all children identified with eye problems including blindness, low vision or correctable refractiveerror
  • Appropriate use of technology for screening and follow up care as well asmonitoring and evaluation

Special School Eye Health Program in Hyderabad and Rangareddy Districts, Telangana, India

Funding Support: USAID-CBP and LVPEI

With the generoussupportfromthe United States Agency forInternational Development(USAID), the Specialschool eye health programis aimed to provide comprehensiveeye care,refractive correction, low vision, and rehabilitation servicesto children with disabilitiesstudying in special schoolslocated inHyderabad and Rangareddy district and also to provide low vision and rehabilitation servicesto children visiting Institutefor vision rehabilitation acrossthe network of LVPEI. This project aimsto provide high quality comprehensive eye care services to approximately 6700 children both via school eye health programas well as hospital based services. This program also aimsto create eye health awareness among key stakeholderssuch asschool teachers and parents.

Programme duration: October, 2021 – April,2023

Objectives:
  • To conduct eye health screening program in specials schools located in GHMC and adjoining areas of Rangareddy district
  • To increase the level of awareness among key stakeholders about the need for eye care for CWD
  • To facilitate availability and accessibility of secondary and tertiary care services as well as low vision and rehabilitation services for CWD
  • To assess and provide LV and rehabilitation services for children visiting vision rehabilitation centers across Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation d/b/a L V Prasad Eye Institute network centers

Persistent Foundation Cataract Surgery Support Program

Funding Support: Persistent Foundation and LVPEI

The Persistent Foundation is funding LVPEI to meet the additional costs involved in the cataract surgery procedures and thus helping the non-paying male and female patients who are above 60 years who are from the villages and slums of Greater Hyderabad District. This will help the old poor patients to complete their treatment until their final follow-up is completed.

Programme duration: 2021-2022

Objectives:
  • To partly support the sight restoring cataract surgery package to senior citizens in the age group of 60 and above belonging to disadvantaged communities of LVPEI Greater Hyderabad District Eye Facilities

Preventing Diabetes with mHealth and Community Health Education in India (mDiabetes)

Funding Support: Arogya World and LVPEI

mDiabetes was designed as a population-level nationwide public health intervention using mobile technology to establish health behaviours known to prevent diabetes.

The WHO informs that approximately 80% of heart disease and diabetes, and 40% of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyles such as avoiding tobacco use, eating healthy foods and increasing daily physical activity

In this purview, messages are provided to motivated consumers twice a week for six months. Arogya World developed the original 56 text messages based on science and behaviour change theory, adapting them culturally for the audiences.

Program effectiveness will be assessed by comparing responses of 500 consumers, based on interviews, before and after they received the messages, and also by comparing them with the responses of a similar number of consumers who did not receive mDiabetes messages.

Programme duration: 2021-2023

Objectives:
  • To introduce ‘Diabetes Prevention Awareness’ to community members through ehaviour change interventions using different communication strategies
  • To measure the impact of the Diabetes Prevention Awareness created by the project

Reaching out with Innovative Services for Eye Care(RISE)

Funding Support: Seva Foundation and LVPEI

The pandemic of COVID-19 had adversely impacted all domains of our life all over the world with health care being no exception. The situation could be worse among lower socio-economic classes in rural areas. Continuity of eye care within LVPEI network is also affected due to COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown last year. LVPEI plans to transverse economic and access barriers and reach out to provide eye care to the vulnerable population in the communities in post COVID-19 situation.Entire population along with special focus on Elderly and Children in the community within two of the LVPEI vision centers catchment area covering 100,000 populationsBalanagar and Kondurg Vision centre catchment population in Rangareddy district of Telangana State covering 100,000 population

Programme duration: 2021 & On-going

Objectives:
  • Universal Eye Health for 100,000 population and service delivery

Mobile Diagnostic Van – “PASHYANTU”

Funding Support: LVPEI

The Mobile Diagnostic Van facility aims at increasing the capabilities of the five secondary centres located in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This brings in the diagnostic services to the door step of the rural community. The diagnostic services will help to test for diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma at the secondary centre level. This mobile facility with all necessary equipment and skilled manpower will visit the secondary centres on a fixed schedule.

The “Pashyantu” Mobile Diagnostic Van (MDV) program aims at increasing the eye care service capability of the five secondary centres for diagnosis of specialty conditions like Glaucoma. It helps to bring the diagnostic service facility to the door step of the rural community. This approximately translates the service availability to 2.5 million patients (covering our five VVCs’ in network).

Programme duration: 2017-Ongoing

Objectives:
  • To provide the specialty related diagnostic services at the secondary eye centre level
  • To ensure optimal utilisation of the mobile facility

Futuristic Vision Centres

Funding Support: Standard Chartered Bank

Programme duration: 2019- Ongoing

Project overview: Establishment of new 58 Technology Enabled Futuristic Vision Centres in Rangareddy, Siddipet, East & West Godavari, Ballari, Sundergarh & Keonjhar districts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana & Odisha

Objectives: To develop new 58 futuristic Vision Centres in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha in India

Training of 24 Vision Technicians and establishment of 20 Vision Centres

Funding Support: Mission for Vision

Programme duration: 2018 -Ongoing

Project overview: Train 24 Vision Technician and establish 20 Vision Centres in Ganjam, Odisha, India

Objectives: To train 24 Vision Technicians and establishment of 20 Vision Centres in Ganjam and Rayagada districts.

Upgradation of 20 conventional Vision Centres to Technology Enabled in Mahaboobnagar, Nirmal & Adilabad

Funding Support: Lavelle Fund for the Blind Inc, USA

Programme duration: 2020-Ongoing

Project overview: Upgradation of 20 conventional Vision Centres to Technology Enabled in Mahaboobnagar, Nirmal & Adilabad

Objectives: To enhance 20 conventional Vision Centres to Technology Enabled Futuristic Vision Centres

Silver Sight Initiative

Funding Support: LVPEI

Programme duration: 2020-Ongoing

Project overview: To provide eye care services for the elderly aged above 60 years of age at their doorsteps through Vision Centres

Objectives: To provide eye care services to elderly, basic eye examination, dispense spectacles and provide tele consultations for those who are unable to visit Vision Centre

CHEMTECH Community Based Eye Health Project

Funding Support: CHEMTECH Group of Companies

The project is committed to establish Comprehensive Eye Care in Krishna District and in Hyderabad GHMC Slums with its main objective to promote eye health care of needy and poor people. This project has implemented Comprehensive Community Based Eye Health & Community Based Rehabilitation Program in the rural villages and urban slums is to eliminate all avoidable visual impairment and blindness through community based curative services, and rehabilitation services for the persons with visual disability along with creating eye health awareness.

Programme duration: 2018 – 2022

Objectives:
  • To deliver eye care at the door steps of people of all segments in the communities through household survey, community screening, referral services to primary, secondary and tertiary care
  • To undertake children screening program at schools and anganwadies and facilitate appropriate eye care services
  • To work together with community groups for supporting accessibility to curative services
  • To Facilitate and provide low-vision enhancement and rehabilitation services for those identified with visual impairment
  • To create awareness on eye health awareness and inclusive rehabilitation for persons with visual impairment

Sight for Kids

Funding Support: Lions Clubs International Foundation and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Companies (JJVCC)

The main aim of this project is to enable access to eye care and eye health education to millions of children since 2005. The Project is active since the year 2005.

SFK is a school based program that mobilizes schoolteachers and volunteers to provide high quality vision screenings and referral access to professional eye care and treatment, including eyeglasses along with eye health education in the rural and underserved urban areas of Greater Hyderabad, Telangana State. LVPEI provides technical support to 7 Sight for Kids partner eye care centres in Greater Hyderabad and monitors the progress of every component of the project that covers 1000 schools every year.

Programme duration: 2015-Ongoing

Objectives:
  • Utilizing schoolteachers and volunteers to identify children having eye problems and refer them to the appropriate eye care services
  • Screening of all children in 5 to 12 age group in the predetermined clusters of Greater Hyderabad
  • Providing appropriate treatment: in the form of spectacles / treatment / therapy / surgery at no cost to all the identified children
  • Facilitate appropriate tertiary level eye care for those requiring advanced treatment/surgery
  • Providing sight enhancement / rehabilitation services for those identified with irreversible vision impairment

Community Eye Care Programs

Funding Support: LVPEI

Programme duration: Ongoing

‘Community Eye Care’ (CEC) screening programs facilitate and deliver services promptly considering the major barriers of accessibility and affordability among the unreached communities. These are conducted among the communities that are part of the service areas of the vision centres and secondary eye care centres. The CEC Programs engage local human resource as eye health workers who are committed to serve all segments of the society without discrimination, after appropriate training.

The major activities of this initiative includes household survey, Community screening program (CSP), Eye health awareness, Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)

Programme duration: 2015-Ongoing

Objectives:
  • To develop high quality self-sustaining eye care services in neglected areas of India and other parts of the developing world
  • To train appropriate community eye health personnel for creating health awareness and mobilizing people in the direction of seeking health.

Anganwadi Eye screening programs

Funding Support: LVPEI

Programme duration: Ongoing

School: School Eye screening program is a screening program for all school children located in the community. This includes the service area of the Vision centres and secondary centres. All schools in the catchment area of the Vision Centres such as Government, Private, Government-aided and all other schools are included in the program. Children identified with refractive errors are provided with a pair of spectacles of their choice and children who require additional eye examination and treatment are referred to the secondary or tertiary care centre for appropriate treatment services.

Anganwadi: Children in the age group of 0 to 5 are enumerated separately and the mothers are asked over to bring their children for eye check-up which will be conducted by Vision Technician in the anganwadi Centre on a predetermined day. Children identified with eye ailments and other problems are referred for detailed examination and treatment at the Secondary Centre.

Objectives:
  • To screen all Children who attend schools and anganwadi centres for different eye problems
  • To provide referral services