Nitesh Raj

AKHAND JYOTI EYE HOSPITAL

1 out of 3 blind people in the world live in India, and low-income states like Bihar share a significant burden of this population. Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital (Akhand Jyoti) started with a Vision to help eliminate curable blindness by providing in low-income regions of India affordable, accessible, sustainable, quality curative and preventive eye care services, and empower women to achieve this. The first goal is to make the state of Bihar blind-free by 2026. Starting in 2006, our approach to specifically target and reach out to the poor, blind patient from rural areas has made us one of the top 5 eye hospitals in India. Our belief that we are not merely an eye hospital but a platform for ushering bigger societal change in local communities propelled our differentiator - we eliminate blindness by empowering women in the process. Therefore, Akhand Jyoti not only restores sight (and thereby income and dignity) to the most deprived sections of society but also incorporates an active gender equality programme aimed at empowering women & girls in strong patriarchies. We also intend to establish the world's first Centre of Excellence in eye care in a rural area (in Bihar of course), thereby bringing speciality world-class treatment to the doorsteps of the most deprived sections of our population. In summary: - We are currently doing over 70,000 eye surgeries while treating 700,000 people each year. 80% of these are provided free of charge to people unable to afford the treatment cost. - Akhand Jyoti aims to treble its operational capacity so that it spearheads the efforts to make Bihar blind-free by 2026. - Under our unique "Football to Eyeball" programme, village girls are encouraged to play football and trained to qualify as an Optometrist professionally. This empowers local girls to cure blindness and to make a broader societal impact in a very patriarchal society. - After 2026, Akhand Jyoti expects to expand its operations in other poor states of India.