Businesses can do more to tackle disabilities like blindness
Lately it has become fashionable to talk about the contribution of companies to society. However, in the daily routine of spreadsheets, email, and video-conferences, the “why we do this” message can get lost.
It is humbling therefore to confront that most vivid of human needs – the need for eyesight – and witness the potential for companies to make a life-changing impact first-hand.
Yesterday was World Sight Day, and I was privileged to receive this reminder of what we can do – and what more we all need to do – at a hospital in Ghana.
My company is here working with a charity called the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP) to help 600 local people regain their sight through cataract removal operations. A small group of us are helping to prepare patients for surgery that will in many cases literally change lives: allowing parents to see their children and grandchildren again, and for farmers to provide for their families once more.
Preventable blindness currently devastates the lives of more than 30m people worldwide. Without access to proper treatment, an ageing and growing global population means that this number is expected to triple in the coming three decades. The worst affected areas will be in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where access to medical treatment cannot be taken for granted – because for so many people it is simply not there.
For a company whose subsidiaries make devices to detect and prevent the causes of blindness, these are statistics we cannot ignore.
No matter where you are in the world, early diagnosis and treatment of a range of common conditions are the best way to prevent loss of sight before it’s too late.
One year ago, we decided to launch an initiative that would seek to connect what we do as a business, as an employer, and as global citizens. We ran a global campaign to first screen our own employees for these common sight-threatening conditions.
For every one of our employees who agreed to have their eyes tested during one of our screening programmes, we then donated to HCP to help the charity bring similar standards of eye care to people in countries without access to reliable screening or treatment.
Through our campaign, we have screened over 2,500 employees across 33 of our operating companies for sight-threatening eye conditions. And we have raised more than $200,000 to support the work of HCP and its surgeons – enough to fund 8,000 sight-saving surgeries for underserved communities in Ghana. In addition, we have donated our technology, such as personalised diagnostic lenses and digital retinal scanners.
This campaign has been fulfilling. But we believe that everyone should have access to similar eye examinations and surgery if needed. We also believe that technology companies like ours have a role to play towards the eradication of preventable blindness.
This is why we want to work with many others to develop advanced digital imaging devices that are simpler to use, and employ smarter, connected technology to make diagnosis and treatment faster and more effective.
The small group of colleagues who joined the trip to Ghana this week were able to see first-hand how the technology needs to evolve to meet the diverse needs of clinicians all over the world.
None of us are under any illusions about the scale of the challenge. As a group which makes technologies that are used in everything from fire safety to air quality monitoring, we want to play our part in helping to grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. It is undoubtedly a bold ambition.
But standing in a Cape Coast teaching hospital in Ghana, I can see a little more clearly how we can get there.
Main image credit: Getty