Bloomberg Philanthropies, one of the biggest philanthropic charities globally, is investing $75 million in a new initiative aimed at improving or restoring the sight of millions of people.
The investment will include the distribution of nearly 7 million pairs of eyeglasses, vision screenings for 11.5 million people, and cataract surgeries to restore the eyesight of 250,000 people, the charity announced on Wednesday during its own forum on the sidelines of the 80th U.N. General Assembly in New York.
This is the first time the charity is investing in addressing vision impairment, an often neglected and underfunded health issue that affects an estimated 2.2 billion people. Of that number, at least 1 billion people have unaddressed vision impairment or blindness, 90% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
