The Australian over-60’s men’s cricket team launched a campaign in Chennai to raise awareness on presbyopia and how to address the issue. The team, led by captain Peter Jensen, has been in the city to take part in the International Masters Cricket 2024 World Cup.
India Vision Institute (IVI), an NGO that works to give access to vision screening and a pair of corrective glasses to people who need them, organised the campaign to address the problem of presbyopia (a refractive error which makes tough for people to focus on things closer to them) in communities, according to a press release. This campaign will be held from March-May 2024.
IVI’s CEO Vinod Daniel said, “The campaign will aim to vision screen 50,000 people through the provision of reading glasses for those in need. It is known that over 33% of the population in India are affected by presbyopia. Despite its widespread prevalence and impact, there is a lack of understanding and awareness of the condition. With corrected vision, through a simple pair of reading glasses, will come increased productivity, higher income and a better quality of life.”
He noted that this campaign will be in partnership with other organisations, for better outreach and outcome.
