ORBIS, the Brien Holden Vision Institute and African Vision Research Institute Announce Poverty and Eye Health Research at the 9GA of IAPB

ORBIS, the Brien Holden Vision Institute and African Vision Research Institute Announce Poverty and Eye Health Research at the 9GA of IAPB PR Newswire HYDERABAD, India, Sept. 19, 2012 - Presentation Emphasises Link between Poverty and Eye Health HYDERABAD, India, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ORBIS, the Brien Holden Vision Institute and African Vision Research Institute (AVRI) have joined forces around the issue of eye health and poverty in South Africa. "The Poverty and Eye Health Study will lay the foundation for service delivery mechanisms providing access for poor to life transforming eye health services in South Africa," said Lene Overland, Director of Programme at ORBIS Europe, Middle East and Africa. The consortium aims to improve the understanding of the impact of visual loss on poverty. More importantly, the consortium aims to develop relationships with key organisations working in poverty reduction to mainstream eye health, and in particular cataract and refractive errors as the leading causes of blindness and visual impairment. "It is critical that we contextualise eye health and the work of civil society in the context of national priorities and the broader development agenda," said Kovin Naidoo, Global Programmes Director at the Brien Holden Vision Institute and CEO of AVRI. "Efforts such as linking poverty and eye health will be beneficial to the expansion of eye health services and contribute to empowering people to participate fully in society.