A child delights at seeing clearly for the first time.

Glasses are one key to improving economic productivity of poor people and encouraging school success for children with poor vision, especially in developing countries.

An Army Major who is also an ophthalmologist has developed a technique to address vision problems that is simple enough to be used in rural areas of Afghanistan. It will be used in remote areas of Afghanistan where there is very little medical infrastructure, and usually no access to vision services or to spectacle fabrication services.

The Major will take 6 kits to train local health professionals to test for vision problems and needs 1,600 pairs of glasses to hand out after testing is complete. In addition to the obvious benefits to Afghan villagers for whom good eyesight is an essential part of life, the goal of the project is to build the capacity of the Afghan government’s health programs and to demonstrate to local citizens the government’s ability to provide medical care to them.

This is a simple, inexpensive way to correct eyesight that can have a lifelong impact for Afghan villagers.

What does your donation buy?

• $600 buys all 600 reading glasses needed
• $250 buys 50 pairs of distance glasses
• $50 buys 10 pairs of distance glasses

ORIGINAL REQUEST

I am a Battalion Surgeon and also an ophthalmologist. As such, I have had the opportunity to do some vision missions in Afghanistan.

Based on that experience I have developed a technique for correction of refractive error that is simple enough to be used on a regular basis in remote areas of Afghanistan. In these areas there is very little medical infrastructure, and usually no access to vision services or to spectacle fabrication services. Vision correction is a relatively inexpensive intervention that produces immediate and lasting results.

The technique (which I am calling the Field Refractive Error Correction Kit – FRECK) involves distributing stock glasses which best match the patient's refractive error. I was able to conduct a trial of the technique on a recent mission to Africa, and was able to correct over 80% of patients with poor distance vision, with an average gain of 3.6 lines of vision (but ranged as high as 10 lines of improvement). In addition, near vision correction will be addressed. Even in developing countries where literacy rates are low, studies have shown that correcting the normal decrease in vision that comes with aging improves quality of life (assisting in activities such as threading a needle or removing a splinter).

My project would involve putting together 6 kits as a pilot program that would to be delivered with training to remote areas of the country. I would then track data as the kits are used.