By Mark Lorey, Vice President of Global Programs and Impact, RestoringVision
In February, leaders of RestoringVision’s Programs and Impact team met with leaders of the National Eye Health Programme in the Nigerian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Together with RestoringVision partners ACHAP and the Christian Health Association of Nigeria (CHAN), they discussed opportunities to contribute toward the initiative recently launched by the President of Nigeria to reach 5 million Nigerians with glasses.
All participants saw strong potential in leveraging CHAN’s network of more than 700 members across all 36 states of Nigeria to enable equitable access to reading glasses for millions of Nigerians with uncorrected presbyopia.
Mark Lorey, Vice President of Global Programs and Impact for RestoringVision, said, “We are inspired by President Tinubu’s strong commitment to restore sight for millions of Nigerians. We look forward to contributing toward the success of this visionary initiative, working with the government, CHAN, and other partners.”
RestoringVision, CHAN, and ACHAP also met with leaders of the two faith communities that together represent nearly all of Nigeria’s population. The National Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs is an umbrella body for imams, mosques, and organizations of Muslims across Nigeria. The Christian Association of Nigeria is the umbrella body for all Christian denominations and congregations in Nigeria. Senior leaders in both bodies expressed strong interest in collaborating with RestoringVision and CHAN to reach millions of their members with reading glasses.
