Childhood is a crucial stage in the development of any well rounded human being. That is why schooling is a compulsory and necessary human right.

That being said, children need good eyesight to do well in their many school activities. Sadly, vision impairments often go unnoticed due to the lack of adequate testing. In fact, “…at least 2.2 billion people around the world have a vision impairment, of whom at least 1 billion have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed.” – World Health Organisation (https://www.who.int/publications-detail/world-report-on-vision).

Opti Eyewear Optometrist and Novartis collaborated to give learners at Mvelaphanda Primary School free vision screenings. A hundred and four learners were screened and a further 75 were tested.

We diagnosed hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, vernal keratoconjunctivitis within the group and only two learners were found to have pathological conditions that need referral to an ophthalmologist.

Following these diagnosis, the learners will receive spectacles from Novartis.