World Sight Day 2021
Dr Astrid Bonfield, Chief Executive of the Vision Catalyst Fund reflects on another globally tumultuous year that put eye health firmly on the map.
I have been working in eye health since 2012 when I took the role of Chief Executive at The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. The Trust was tasked with leaving a lasting legacy for citizens across the Commonwealth in honour of Her Majesty The Queen. By the close of the Trust in 2019, we had raised over £100 million and successfully implemented eye health programmes in 28 countries throughout the Commonwealth.
When I look back on 2019, I imagined it would be the most significant year for my work in eye health. When Standard Chartered Bank, EssilorLuxottica, UBS, Philanthropist James Chen, Dr Andrew Bastawrous and I founded The Vision Catalyst Fund (VCF), I thought this would be topped when we met the target of US$1 billion for vision for 1 billion people with preventable vision impairment. But it has actually turned out to be the last 12 months since World Sight Day 2020 that will stay in my mind as the most pivotal.
Against this initially discouraging backdrop of the pandemic, I have been filled with optimism for the future of vision care. There has been an extraordinary level of innovation in driving health solutions that might have taken years to develop, now in the hands of those who need them in months. There is the ambition to ‘build back better’ not simply rebuild. Above all, I have seen a step away from perfectionism in development and movement towards learning and ‘getting the job done’ at pace. This collective change in mindset to address an acute humanitarian crisis can be channelled towards solving protracted development issues like global eye health. This World Sight Day we can celebrate the potential that comes with this new view of our capacity for impact. The publication of The Lancet Report on Global Eye Health and The UN Resolution for Eye Health serves as a reminder that the art of the possible can take place in a crisis.
Celebrating the Work
I am pleased to be able to share some of the work the VCF has been doing in the months since the last World Sight Day:
Vision Entrepreneurs in India: The VCF has been working since the start of the year to launch an eye health skilling programme in India, financed by a development impact bond. Based on EssilorLuxottica’s Eye Mitra model, the Vision Entrepreneurs (VE) programme will see 3,500 unemployed and underemployed people trained to deliver basic eye care services. With the unexpected escalation of COVID-19 in India, the VCF is reimagining the programme to skill the VEs in community health as well as telemedicine-supported refractive error testing. This has the dual benefit of increasing the VEs breadth of skills as well as meeting the shortage of health human resources when it is needed the most.
200 Million Eyeglasses: We are delighted to have made our first grant of lenses and reading glasses to support programmes across Asia and Africa. This is the first of 200 million pairs of lenses pledged by EssilorLuxottica which will be granted to catalytic organisations and programmes up to 2030. The VCF will support the scale-up of proven models and kick-start innovative ones to accelerate access to eyeglasses to those who need them most. We look forward to opening up applications to all in early 2022. We will be showcasing more about the programmes at a special learning event later in the year.
Bonds, Swaps and Guarantees: We are developing new financial products to fund country-level and regional eye health programmes. We are looking at Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East as target regions. This includes ‘money-back guarantees’ developed with Tri-Sector Associates, debt-for-eye health swaps and “Vision Bonds.” We are so excited to share these products with the world and set them to work raising new funds for the sector. The impact investing mechanic and broad programme lens is bringing together funders and experts from well beyond the eye health, and indeed health sector.
A New Manifesto
Coinciding with the terrible COVID-19 surge in India, Dr Bastawrous and I wrote a ‘manifesto’ for the VCF, a declaration of what we wanted to be in the world. It is only a few paragraphs but for today I will share one line:
“It (The VCF) is the willingness to fail in pursuit of something that will outlive us but will mean the next generation does not live with the failures of our own. The Vision Catalyst Fund: it is the audacity of hope.”
With this mantra in mind, the VCF is more determined than ever to join hands with partners to run and sometimes fall towards the US$1 billion for vision for 1 billion people. We are doing this for the people with preventable vision impairment who must not wait any longer. This is for the frontline health workers, who make the impossible happen and deserve infinitely more than we give them. We are doing this for our colleagues in the eye sector, who have been bearing the burden alone of this far-reaching health crisis for too long. We celebrate today on World Sight day all we have achieved, all we have overcome and all we will accomplish together.
