Netra Jyoti & CBM reached an agreement to collaborate on free eye & ear treatment

KATHMANDU: Nepal Netra Jyoti Association and CBM Global have signed a mutual cooperation agreement.

The two organizations have signed an agreement to provide quality eye and ear health services to ordinary citizens in State 1 and Madhesh State who are below the poverty line.

The agreement was signed on behalf of Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh by President Prof. Dr. Chetraj Panta and CBM Global by Executive Director David Bainbridge.

The program featured Bharat Bahadur Chand, General Secretary of Netra Jyoti Association member Padma Narayan Chaudhary, and Suraj Sigdel, Country Director of CBM Global.

Through the Eastern Region of the Eye Association’s eye and ear treatment program, CBM Global will provide free eye and ear treatment services to the marginalized communities of State 1 and Madhesh State, as well as those living below the poverty line.

According to the association, in collaboration between the two organizations, treatment services will be provided through eye hospitals, eye treatment centers and external programs to the citizens of the area who are far from access to eye and ear treatment.

For the past 40 years, Netra Jyoti Association and CBM Global have collaborated to provide quality eye treatment services in Nepal in a convenient, accessible, and affordable manner.

“This agreement has added more bricks to our 40 years of cooperation and with the implementation of this program, the citizens of the area will receive free eye and ear treatment services at their homes, which we believe will bring a big change in their economic and social life,” Dr. Shailesh Kumar Mishra, executive director of Netra Jyoti Association said.

Speaking after the agreement, Suraj Sigdel, Country Director of CBM Global, said that he has been cooperating with Netra Jyoti Association through various programs for the past 40 years because of the excellent work they are doing in the field of eye treatment and blindness control in Nepal.

Prof. Dr. Chetraj Panta, Chair of the Nepal Netra Jyoti Association, believes that this collaboration will significantly contribute to the Netra Jyoti Association’s goal of eliminating blindness after treatment in Nepal by 2030.

He stated that due to a lack of financial resources, some people in Nepal are still living with visual impairment. He expressed his hope that blindness will be eradicated in Nepal by 2030, in collaboration with other organizations.

Currently, an integrated eye and ear health program is in operation in Karnali State in collaboration with Netra Jyoti Association and CBM. Only 3,080 people have benefited from this program’s free eye surgery as of 2022.

Netra Jyoti Association currently provides citizens with accessible and high-quality eye healthcare services through 27 eye hospitals, 150 eye treatment centers, and 44 district branches.

The association provides quality services at people’s doorsteps to ensure that no citizen is forced to live blindly due to financial constraints, and for this purpose, the bright campaign program has also been implemented in collaboration with various agencies, through which many Nepalese citizens who are below the poverty line receive free eyesight, examination, and surgical services.