Accessibility, Awareness & Affordability
Vision loss has become a severe global health crisis. Across the world there are over 1.1 billion people with some form of vision loss. To combat this, many are pledging to support developing and isolated communities with the prevention and cure of blindness.
The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation, along with other organisations such as the Fred Hollows Foundation and the Himalayan Cataract Project have been working hard to support communities across the world.
To combat curable blindness, the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation have implemented the 3 A’s in their work to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to healthy and clear vision.
Accessibility
Making healthcare accessible to all is at the core of everything we do. Many communities are unable to gain access to standard healthcare, let alone established eye care.
In the global West, many take eye care services for granted and do not need to worry as much about future complications due to the amount of preventative measures and cures that are available.
However, this is not the case for many nations. In areas such as Asia and Africa, health and eye services are limited. According to a study, in India there is one ophthalmologist per 100,000 people (healio.com).
Here at the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation, we ensure that when visiting communities and hospitals, we train healthcare professionals how to treat cataracts sustainably and affordably.
Giving marginalised and isolated communities access to healthcare allows individuals and entire communities to prosper socially and economically.
Awareness
Raising awareness regarding the impact that poor eye health can have on people in developing nations is vital to tackling the issue. Encouraging more people to become aware and educated about the harmful effects that a lack of access to healthcare can help improve the situation of many communities across the world.
By sharing stories and educating people we are able to show how vital it is to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare.
Together, with many other organisations, we are able to support those in need and further our legacy of change.
On top of this, ensuring that the individuals who are affected by cataract blindness are aware of what it is and the effects it can have on their life its a necessity.
Often, individuals living in isolated and developing communities are unaware of illness or disease so they do not begin to try to seek help.When staging outreach camps, we are able to show community members that they are suffering needlessly.
Affordability
Creating affordable methods of treatment is at the heart of the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation. Not only do we operate and cure patients for free, but we also teach local doctors how to perform affordable treatments.
Dr Ruit, one of our two founders, has a surgical method that can free someone from blindness in around 7 minutes and costing less than USD$50.
Cataract surgery normally would be completely out of an individuals reach due to the cost of being cured in developing nations. With Dr Ruit’s low-cost method, we are able to cure thousands at a time for no cost.
The Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation have cured 23,663 people of cataract blindness so far. The intervention has occurred in Bhutan, Nepal, Ghana and soon in Tanzania. Stay up to date with everything the Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation is doing by following our social media.
