LAICO, 8–10 April 2025

The Vision Building Workshop for Aravind-Thanjavur team was organised at LAICO featuring various activities. The first day featured an outbound learning session at Aurolab, conducted by Pegasus Academy, focusing on team dynamics and leadership.

Day two began with the inauguration, followed by sessions on institution building, patient-centred care, setting Year 1 targets, and understanding the service area population. Participants engaged in group exercises to finalise protocols and improve patient flow.

Day three focused on finalising functional policies, outreach planning, and receiving guidance and inputs from Aravind’s senior leadership team. The workshop concluded with a summary presentation and a roadmap for moving forward.

Aravind–Madurai/Chennai, 13–20 March 2025

Organised by LAICO with support from the Cure Blindness Project, twelve ophthalmologists from eleven eye hospitals in Ethiopia and Ghana attended the training programme in two locations, the sessions  at Aravind–Chennai  and Aravind–Madurai. The primary goal of the week-long orientation was to help the participants enhance their understanding of clinical protocols in cataract surgery, improve SICS training methods, and review standard operating procedures (SOPs) for better implementation in their own institutions.

During the course, the team actively participated in outreach surgical programmes and hands-on training. The participants explored outpatient care processes, pre-operative procedures, operating theatre and sterilisation protocols, trainer responsibilities, curriculum design for effective SICS training, infrastructure, teaching tools, evaluation methods, and adult learning principles. They also discussed managing complications and strategies for efficient and sustainable outreach models.

The team also had the opportunity to observe and engage in wet lab sessions, experience hands-on training at various stations, and use the HelpMeSee Simulator for SICS training. In addition, they visited an IT-enabled Vision Centre in Mudichur, Chennai, and attended an outreach eye screening camp.

LAICO, March 2025

As part of LAICO’s ongoing capacity-building initiative, a six-day Vision Building and Strategic Planning Workshop was organised to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of eye care services highlighting the key management principles. The focus areas include, demand generation, quality assurance, optimal resource utilisation, and financial sustainability. Presently, LAICO conducted the workshop for three hospitals, namely, Northern Community Eye Hospital, Tamale, Ghana, Bahirdar Speciality Eye Hospital, Bahirdar, Ethiopia, and Thulsi Eye Hospital, Nashik, Maharashtra, India.

Participants worked on setting actionable strategic plans tailored to their local community needs, while also benefiting from peer learning. The workshop also featured exposure visits, input sessions, panel discussions, interactive group work, and presentations.