Standard Chartered and Sightsavers conclude ‘Seeing is Believing’ program in Singida

Singida. Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania, in partnership with Sightsavers, has marked the completion of thefourth phase of the‘Seeing is Believing’ program, in Singida, an initiative geared towards eradicating avoidable blindness in the region.

The Singida leg has come to an end following its implementation in the region since 2016.

The Bank contributed $1.5 million to the project which went towards contributing to sustainable provision of eye care services in all districts of the Singida region.

The programme focused on strengthening eye health systems to deliver quality eye health services, increase access of eye health services in all districts in Singida as well as increasing support and commitment to eye health from local and central government.

The bank says Seeing is Believing program has recorded remarkable achievements for both children and adults in the Singida region. It involved a special school health project that involved screening pupils across the Singida region.

The initiative saw 1,059 teachers were trained on eye health and vision screening. The project reached 483 out of 529 primary schools which is an equivalent of 91 per cent of total primary schools in Singida.

In total203,248 pupils were screened out of whom10,665pupils were dispensed with spectacles and 8,465 pupils were treated for various eye health conditions.

Apart from the children, adults in the Singida also benefited from the project with

106, 990 adults screened and 8,638 underwent cataract operations whilst 6,154 received spectacles. Other  81,366 received treatment for various eye health conditions.

The project also saw the construction of eye care and health facilities in Manyoni, Iramba, Singida, Ikungi and Mkalama Districts, which have been built in collaboration with the Government.

Speaking at the handover event ceremony, the bank’s CEO, Sanjay Rughani, said that they were delighted to have played a critical role in supporting the Singida community through the Seeing is Believing program.

He also acknowledged Sightsavers for implementing the program well that has resulted to positive impact in Singida.

Mr. Rughani also applauded the government’s efforts and collaboration towards eradicating avoidable blindness in Tanzania.

Mr. Rughani highlighted that the close collaboration with the government in the implementation of the ‘Seeing is Believing’ program will go a long way in ensuring the sustainability of the program.

“Whilst the ‘Seeing is Believing’ program has come to an end, I am happy to know that there is a sustainability plan to ensure more efforts are directed towards eradicating avoidable blindness in Singida. I am pleased to know that the Singida region will also generate revenue from the provision of eye care services through the sale of spectacles. The funds will be re-invested to order consumables and spectacles before they run out of stock. In further ensuring sustainability of the program, 323 health staff at the district level underwent various training on eye care and health.

In addition to that latest technology eye care and health equipment costing over Sh350 million has been delivered to various hospitals in the region and this will definitely ensure the sustainability of the project.”Mr. Rughani said.

The program has also created extensive awareness on importance of eye care and health. This awareness has been done through village-level sensitization forums as well as through radio awareness.

Sightsavers Country Director, Mr. Godwin Kabalika, applauded the Bank for funding the Seeingis Believing program which has changed lives for many people in Singida and Tanzania at large. He also said that, the 4-year journey in implementing the program had not only benefited the residents of theSingida region but also the direct project implementors who have learnt from the process which will lead to more seamless execution of future programs.Mr. Kabalika also thanked the Government for its support to the program.

The World Report on Vision further show that globally more than 2.2 billion people have a vision impairment. Of those at least 1 billion people have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or has yet to be treated. As usual, this burden is not borne equally: it weighs heavily on people from low- and middle-income countries, women, older persons and those from ethnic minorities.

“It is for this reason that Sightsavers is dedicated towards promoting eye health. Whilst the Seeing is Believing program has come to an end, we believe that the residents of Singida will continue to access eye health services from the various constructed eye health clinics at the district level as well as the regional hospital. I would like to urge everyone to go for eye screening periodically to improve your eye health and overall wellbeing,” Mr.Godwin said.