In February, Essilor’s social impact fund, Vision For Life (VFL) and Community Advancement Initiative for Self-Reliance (CAI4SR) launched our first vision center in the state of Osun, Nigeria.
According to our Eliminating Poor Vision in a Generation report, Nigeria is among the top ten countries with the largest population of people suffering from uncorrected poor vision. Therefore this vision center situated in the town of Oshogbo is very welcome as it will provide sustainable access to vision correction to 200,000 residents and contribute towards the elimination of poor vision in the area.
Opened in conjunction with CAI4SR’s 10th anniversary and commemorated by a free screening event, the vision center is housed within the NGO’s premises. It will provide free refraction screenings and affordable glasses from our 2.5 New Vision Generation (2.5 NVG) range.
Founded in 2009 by Mr and Mrs Ayeni, CAI4SR focuses on championing women, children and persons with disabilities. The NGO has developed many different kinds of outreach and mobilization programs to serve the rural communities in Osun, including initiatives that create access to vision care.
VFL and CAI4SR joined forces six months ago to establish this vision center, and VFL will continue to support future screening initiatives for children led by CAI4SR in the state.