HelpMeSee is launching a campaign to perform 300 sight-restoring cataract surgeries in Bangalore, thanks to a $35,000 corporate social responsibility grant from Moog Motion Controls Pvt Ltd, J P Nagar, Bangalore, India. Nayonika Eye Care Charitable Trust (NECT) will perform these surgeries using HelpMeSee’s Reach app, Pre-Sterilized Single-Use Surgical Kit, and Surgical Reporting System.
Cataract is a significant cause of blindness worldwide and especially in India, it assumes voluminous proportions.
In 2016, HelpMeSee and their partners, Sadguru Sewa Sangh Trust, helped the local administration to declare five districts – Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, and Banda of Uttar Pradesh, and Satna and Panna of Madhya Pradesh, as cataract blindness-free backlog communities. HelpMeSee will support Karnataka to create a sixth blindness-free backlog community in India. Similar efforts are underway in the North Tripura district of Tripura, Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh, and the Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh.
In a statement, Dr. Ranjit Maniar, Regional Medical Officer, Asia said that “The large numbers of cataract blind in and around Bangalore city demonstrates that cataract blindness is not just a rural issue. This health crisis impacts India’s urban poor as well, especially with regards to access and affordability of proper eye healthcare.”
Moog Motion Control’s General Manager – Sanmay Dasgupta, stated that providing this support for surgeries illustrates Moog’s commitment to the needs of society and the step towards a positive change. “As a development partner for the HelpMeSee’s Eye Surgical Simulator, we fully understand the crisis of cataract blindness. This support from us is another way we can alleviate the suffering caused by this obstacle to a healthy society.”
Dr. P. L. Nataraj, Director of Health and Family Services for Karnataka graciously thanked all three partners. “This would not be possible without the support of Moog, HelpMeSee, and NECT. This campaign is an example of how partnerships with government agencies, for-profit business, and charities, can work together to improve the quality of lives in our communities.”
Surgeries started on March 1, 2018, at NECT’s hospital facilities under surgeon Dr. Surekha Prashant.