Etisalat rings support for improving quality of life in Sri Lanka

The Vision 2020 Secretariat of the Ministry of Health recently released the National Survey of Blindness, Visual Impairment, Ocular Morbidity and Disability in Sri Lanka. According to findings, Sri Lanka has a prevalence rate of 1.7% in blindness. This means 1.7% of Sri Lankans who are aged 40 and above are blind in both eyes. Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness and Sri Lanka has a backlog of over 1million cataract surgeries during the last five years. 

Refractive errors, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and blindness are among the other causes of vision impairment in the country. Although most cases of cataracts are related to the aging process, occasionally children can be born with the condition, or a cataract may develop after eye injuries, inflammation and some other eye diseases.

The ‘Denethakata Senehasak’ campaign is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) component of Etisalat Lanka. With the brand’s continued partnership with So Others May see Inc. (SOMS), Etisalat has been involved in supporting Sri Lanka’s endeavour in working towards the elimination  of cataracts and vision impairment, which is the primary cause of preventable blindness. The brand had previously advocated the cause of safeguarding the country’s vision through their annual ‘Spectacle Dansala’ project conducted to provide free spectacles to those in need.

The project has conducted vision screening for the benefit of individuals across Sri Lanka who lack access to timely eye care and helped restore the sight of individuals while donating over 8,800 spectacles.       

The campaign was launched at the Attanagalla and Gampaha Education divisions where 78,612 school children from 98 schools were screened for vision impairments. Approximately 900 students benefited from receiving custom-made prescription spectacles, while 221 students were referred to regional eye hospitals.

Speaking on the project, Etisalat Lanka Chief Commercial Officer Yasser Aboulamayem stated that Etisalat intends to continue and expand this CSR initiative by eventually focusing to extend the program to all parts of the country. “There are many people in our community, especially the younger generation, who are deprived of clear vision due to difficulties. We are proud to partner with SOMS once again to conduct this program to eliminate avoidable vision defects and blindness.” 

“An organisation such as Etisalat can behave as a pillar of support to increase public awareness and also support the cause by providing individuals from low income families with aid to restore their sight through initiatives such as Denethakata Senehasak,” said SOMS President and State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene.

As a leading corporate in the country, Etisalat is committed to giving back to the community they operate in and will continue to focus on driving more meaningful community development projects over the coming years. “The ‘072’ network has been in Sri Lanka for over 25 years and we felt an initiative to conduct a sustainable CSR campaign of this nature would truly benefit the people of Sri Lanka. This project helped us identify groups in need and assist them. The joy brought by this project has motivated us to continue in this endeavour for the years to come,” Aboulamayem said. 

Minister Wijewardene stated that this year they hope to achieve their target of providing free eye care services to over 12,000 individuals, including both adults and children. “We believe that everyone deserves to continue living a productive and meaningful life and we are happy to partner with Etisalat Lanka, who have supported our cause and are partnering with us to conduct this project,” he underlined.

In the long term, the initiative seeks to ensure the best possible vision for all people, thereby improving their quality of life. This goal will be achieved through the establishment of a sustainable and comprehensive eye-care system as an integral part of the national health system.

Etisalat hopes that through these initiatives, they are able to significantly contribute to reducing the number of persons suffering from preventable blindness via more efficient screening, eye care services and the provision of surgeries and spectacles to correct vision impairments in the elderly as well as the young.

“We have received immense help from Etisalat to conduct these programs with Vision 2020 Secretariat of Ministry of Health, thus providing sight to many who previously could not see. Providing spectacles to children gives us the greatest job as they are the future of this country,” said Minister Wijewardene.