Hyderabad, 8th July 2024: The L V Prasad Eye Institute was awarded the Top 10 Best NGOs of the Year – 2024 at the prestigious Global CSR & ESG Awards 2024 at the Hyatt Regency in Gurgaon, which saw a gathering of influential dignitaries. Mahaveer C Jain from the Public Relations and Donor Affairs team accepted the award on behalf of LVPEI.

“The award is a testament to the tireless dedication of the entire team, and the unwavering support of our donors and partners. Awards such as this propel us to continue our efforts #SoThatAllMaySee.”, responded on Dr Prashant Garg, Executive Chairman on receiving the award.

The Global CSR & ESG Awards are designed to discuss and review the CSR and ESG mandates of corporates, recognize NGOs and social enterprises partnering with them to fulfil these mandates meaningfully and creating lasting impact.

LVPEI was awarded the Top 10 Best NGOs of the Year – 2024 for its impact in the eye health sector. The LVPEI eye health pyramid directly impacts 150 million people in India. It offers over 2 million eye care services (including 150,000 surgeries) every year, where nearly 50% are provided at no cost to patients, irrespective of the complexity of care. It is one of biggest corneal transplantation centres in the world, having performed over 50,000 transplants.

LVPEI has till date trained 62000+ eye care professionals from India and the world and published 4500+ research papers in some of the most prestigious medical journals.

The innovative LVPEI ‘Eye Health Pyramid’, is a unique integrated eye care delivery model that ensures availability of appropriate and affordable eye care in remote rural areas. Permanent eye care centres set up in rural communities are connected to secondary and advanced tertiary eye care centres equipped to manage the most complex cases. In a country with limited affordability and poor access to eye health, the pyramid model takes eye care close to where the need is greatest.

At the base of the pyramid are ‘Vision Guardians’ who perform basic screening for up to 5000 people. They refer those requiring eye care to vision centres. ‘Vision Centres’ offer primary eye care services, dispense eyeglasses and cater to about 50,000 people. A cluster of 10 vision centres link up to a secondary centre, serving up to half a million people.

Today, 26 LVPEI secondary centres offer access to an eye doctor, basic surgical care, and in some locations, even complex care like corneal transplants. The four tertiary care centres (Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Kadapa) and the advanced tertiary centre (the headquarters) in Hyderabad support the pyramid with other specialist services, including rehabilitation facilities for those irreversibly blind.

The World Health Organisation, international NGOs like Operation Eyesight Universal, Seva Foundation, Mission for Vision have embraced and promoted the model across their networks around the world, as a solution to address avoidable vision loss. The GOI plans to establish 20,000 vision centres across the country on the lines of the LVPEI model.