Vision For Vision Eye Mitra Plans To Train 10,000 Opticians In Rural India By 2020

Eye Mitra Optician programme, run by 2.5 New Vision Generation (2.5 NVG), a division of Essilor India has trained and created 2,500 rural youth to be opticians in their villages in three years. 2.5 NVG plans to take the number to 10,000 by 2020. Milind Jadhav, head, 2.5 NVG - India, talks to Mohd Mustaquim about the programme and its impact.

- Mohd Mustaquim

Tell us something about the Eye Mitra Optician programme?

Under Eye Mitra Optician programme, with the help of our project partners, identifies passionate rural youth and gives them training on basic vision screening and spectacle dispensing. This training period is of 12 months which includes two months of classroom session and 10 months of on the job (OJT) training. During the OJT period, EMOs are trained on various business aspects such as basics of running a successful business, customer handling and conducting Vision Screening Events (VSEs). We have dedicated training centres where training is given by a team of qualified trainers and at every level quality assessments are done.

On completion of successful training, 2.5NVG provides product and marketing support along with other required instruments to EMOs for setting up a small optical outlet in their respective local community.

What was the objective behind the initiative?

Out of 2.5 billion people in the world who need vision correction, 95 percent of them live in developing countries. If no action is taken, estimates show that this major social and economic issue will affect 3.2 billion people by 2050. In India alone, uncorrected refractive error (URE) accounts for more than 550 million people. However, simple measures can be found in order to fight against poor vision and reach people in the smaller cities. Essilor International has created a dedicated business arm - 2.5 New Vision Generation (NVG) whose ambition is to reverse the current trend with innovative, scalable and profitable inclusive business models that aim to add 50 million new spectacle wearers per year by 2020.