Operation Eyesight Universal and M. M. Joshi Eye Institute held a foundation-laying ceremony for a new secondary eye health care hospital in Patrikia Bhavan, Yadgir District, Karnataka on Monday, February 3, 2025. The new hospital, which will be named Secondary Eye Hospital of Shri Guru Mahipatiraj Eye Bank and Research Foundation Trust, will serve the 1.2 million people of Yadgir.
The prevalence of blindness in India is estimated to be 0.36 percent according to the National Blindness & Vision Impairment Survey, conducted between 2015 and 2019. Karnataka is estimated to have a significantly higher rate while Yadgir District is higher still. Currently, people can access primary eye health care at the government hospital, but there is no secondary eye health care hospital. Once operational, the new hospital aims to provide eye exams for 12,000 people, 2,500 prescription spectacles, 1,800 sight-saving surgeries (cataract and non-cataract), screenings of an additional 2,500 people through partnerships, and increased capacity for primary health care staff and referrals to the new hospital.
Operation Eyesight Universal and the M.M. Joshi Eye Institute are working to prevent blindness and restore eyesight in Karnataka. The project encompasses Yadgir District. The new secondary hospital was made possible through a generous donation from the Gerald A. Cooper-Key Foundation (a charitable foundation based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada). The foundation has been supporting Operation Eyesight’s mission since 2015 and has played an instrumental role in making quality eye care services available in India and its neighboring countries.
Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, president and CEO of Operation Eyesight Universal, says, “Bringing eye health care to the people in Yadgir, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay, will transform not only lives but also communities. Children will better be able to learn, adults will be better able to earn a living and seniors can better maintain their independence. We are grateful to the M. M. Joshi Eye Institute and the Gerald Cooper-Key Foundation for their longstanding partnership.”
Srinivas Joshi of M. M. Joshi Eye Institute says, “We are deeply grateful to Operation Eyesight Universal for their unwavering support in this endeavor. This hospital will be a beacon of hope for those living with avoidable blindness in the Kalyan Karnataka region. Our goal is to provide quality eye care to those who need it the most and improve the overall health and well-being of our community.”
