We See Results With Measurable Impact

Eye Care Services Provided To: 900,000
Sight-Restoring Surgeries: 30,896
Fellows Trained To Eliminate Preventable Blindness: 6,700

International Eye Care Programs in Ghana, Honduras, and India

Impact: Quantitative Outcome Measurements

We track the number of patients living in poverty who receive eye care through Unite For Sight outreach programs. Unite For Sight invests human and financial resources to develop each eye clinic's outreach infrastructure, and the programs are led, managed, and delivered by the local eye clinic's ophthalmic staff.
We evaluate the number of patients living in poverty who are receiving surgery by the local eye clinics, and we track the number of patients with significantly improved vision after surgery. Unite For Sight requires extensive documentation from each eye clinic partner, including every patient's preoperative and postoperative visual acuity data, which is analyzed to ensure the quality, effectiveness, and social impact of the programs.
We assess the increase in each eye clinic's cataract surgical rate, targeted for patients living in poverty. Comparison measurements are made for cataract surgical rate before and after the introduction of the Unite For Sight partnership.

Results

Our innovative programs have provided the highest quality of care to 900,000 of the world's poorest people, including 30,896 sight-restoring surgeries. The eye care is provided by local eye doctors.The communities where we work did not previously have access to eye care due to many barriers. Unite For Sight's model has enabled local eye clinics to create real change and a sustainable impact for those living in extreme poverty.
With Unite For Sight's investments of human and financial resources, the eye clinics eliminate patient barriers to care by fully funding surgeries, bringing eye care services by local eye care professionals to the patients, providing transportation to the eye clinic for surgery as needed, and educating communities about blindness elimination.
The eye care services are comprehensive, including examinations by local eye doctors, diagnosis and care for all treatable conditions, education, and prevention. This full range of services is delivered to the population year-round.
Examples of Unite For Sight's cataract surgical rate success:
- In Tamale, Ghana, ophthalmologist Dr. Wanye is the only eye doctor for 2 million people in the entire region. Prior to working with Unite For Sight, Dr. Wanye often went months without performing a single cataract surgery because the community members could not afford the cost of surgery. Unite For Sight volunteers now work with him to assist with screening outreach programs, and Unite For Sight funds the cataract surgeries for the patients so that no one will remain blind due to lack of funds. With the support of Unite For Sight, Dr. Wanye now provides close to 2,000 cataract surgeries each year.
- In Accra, Ghana, Unite For Sight's support has enabled Crystal Eye Clinic to more than triple its annual number of surgeries, and 86% of the surgeries are now provided to patients living in extreme poverty. Unite For Sight annually sponsors more than 2,000 surgeries provided by Crystal Eye Clinic for patients living in extreme poverty.
- In Chennai, India, Uma Eye Clinic has more than quadrupled its capacity to provide surgeries to poor patients from rural villages. During the past two years, Uma Eye Clinic's ophthalmologists provided 2,114 surgeries to patients from rural villages.

Global Impact Corps

Unite For Sight's Global Impact Fellows assist the local eye clinic staff with daily operational tasks, data entry and statistical analysis, and they also develop important projects and programs such as large educational posters that are displayed in each village (i.e. how to use eye medication, what occurs during cataract surgery, etc.), Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved research studies to better understand patient barriers to care, educational and train-the-trainer workshops, and other important programs to enhance the success of the local eye clinic's programs.

We have engaged, inspired, and trained 1,375 fellows to become new leaders in global health while participating in community-based eye health services.
99% of alumni say that participating with Unite For Sight impacted their interest in global health and international development, and 97% report that participating in the program enhanced their ideas and interest in social entrepreneurship and contributing to widespread social change.

Community Fellows Program

Annually, more than 1,100 fellows in 90 chapters throughout North America serve as advocates for community eye health.

Global Health & Innovation Conference

More than 2,200 participants from 50 states and from 55 countries gain skills and tools to create change and engage in social entrepreneurship.

Global Health University

Annually, more than 1,400 Unite For Sight Fellows are required to complete the Global Health University courses, which instills in them best practices in global health and social entrepreneurship. Thousands more actively use the important training materials.