GP signs deal with Sightsavers to provide free eye treatment to rural poor
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Grameenphone (GP) has embarked upon a CSR (corporate social responsibility) partnership with Sightsavers International to provide free eye-care services among the poorest population across the country, reports UNB.
To this effect, Grameenphone and Sightsaver International signed a partnership agreement at a city hotel Monday.
Kafil HS Muyeed, director of New Business Division of Grameenphone, and Enamul Kabir, country representative of Sightsaver International, signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides, said a GP press release.
Professor Syed Maruf Ali, line director, eye care at the directorate general of health services, was present on the occasion.
Under the agreement, GP and Sightsavers have jointly been organising free eye-care camps in the rural areas where the majority of the population does not have access to primary healthcare services.
So far, nearly 3,500 patients were given eye treatment while over 400 underwent inter-ocular lens (IOL) surgery or cataract surgery through eye camps in Cox's Bazar, Bagerhat and Natore districts.
"In a country like ours where the majority of people do not have access to healthcare, it is important for corporate houses, such as
Grameenphone, to come to the needs of the people. GP will help in as many ways as possible, through such initiatives," said the new business director.
The release said all the patients, registering for eye-care at the camps, are provided with free routine eye examinations.
Prescriptions for refractive error are given and IOL or cataract surgery is also operated on those who require them, it added.
Sightsavers International, an organisation committed to fighting blindness in developing countries, has been working in Bangladesh since 1973.
To this effect, Grameenphone and Sightsaver International signed a partnership agreement at a city hotel Monday.
Kafil HS Muyeed, director of New Business Division of Grameenphone, and Enamul Kabir, country representative of Sightsaver International, signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides, said a GP press release.
Professor Syed Maruf Ali, line director, eye care at the directorate general of health services, was present on the occasion.
Under the agreement, GP and Sightsavers have jointly been organising free eye-care camps in the rural areas where the majority of the population does not have access to primary healthcare services.
So far, nearly 3,500 patients were given eye treatment while over 400 underwent inter-ocular lens (IOL) surgery or cataract surgery through eye camps in Cox's Bazar, Bagerhat and Natore districts.
"In a country like ours where the majority of people do not have access to healthcare, it is important for corporate houses, such as
Grameenphone, to come to the needs of the people. GP will help in as many ways as possible, through such initiatives," said the new business director.
The release said all the patients, registering for eye-care at the camps, are provided with free routine eye examinations.
Prescriptions for refractive error are given and IOL or cataract surgery is also operated on those who require them, it added.
Sightsavers International, an organisation committed to fighting blindness in developing countries, has been working in Bangladesh since 1973.