Assam & Uttar Pradesh, 26-30 January &  5-7 February 2025

As part of the Lions Project, Dr. Sathish Devaraj, Medical Consultant, Aravind-Salem, and Mohammed Gowth, Senior Faculty, LAICO, conducted a Needs Assessment Visit to the Guwahati Lions Eye Hospital, Assam, on 26-30 January 2025. Similarly, Dr. Balaji V, Medical Consultant, Cornea Services, Aravind-Madurai, and Syed Ali A, Senior Faculty, LAICO, Raghul D, Faculty Associate, LAICO, conducted a visit to the Lions Eye Hospital, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on 5 – 7 February 2025. The main objective of these visits was to gain an understanding of the hospitals and identify potential focus areas for improvement.

LAICO, 31^st January – 4^th February 2025

LAICO has initiated a three-year capacity-building project in collaboration with Sightsavers to enhance eye care delivery in five underserved districts in India. One of the key activities of the District Planning Initiative is to develop effective strategies and action plans to improve eye care services.
In this regard, a five-day Vision Building and Strategic Planning Workshop was conducted at LAICO, bringing together representatives from three districts: Gumla (Jharkhand), Sirohi (Rajasthan), and Katihar (Bihar). Representatives from Sightsavers and the DPM from Gumla also participated, along with the LAICO team. The workshop focused on public-private partnerships, outreach sustainability, improving surgery uptake, quality and sterilisation standards. In addition to classroom sessions, participants visited primary eye care centres, community centres, and secondary hospitals of similar size. They also attended an outreach camp to observe systems, processes, and best practices in service delivery. At the end of the workshop, each district’s representatives developed an action plan for the next year.

Aravind-Madurai, 23-30 January 2025

The 23rd batch of the Management Priorities in Eye Care Delivery course was successfully conducted for 27 participants from India, Nigeria (virtually), and Nepal. Designed for heads of eye hospitals, the programme focused on strategic management, leadership, and operational excellence. The course featured sessions from internal faculty, including Dr. R.D. Ravindran, R.D. Thulasiraj, Emeritus Executive Director, LAICO, Dr. Venkatesh Prajna, and others. Guest faculty such as Prof. Balasubramaniam, Prof. DVR Seshadri, and Manish Kumar enriched the sessions with insights on financial management, leadership, and operational strategies. The course provided participants with valuable tools to enhance efficiency and impact in their eye hospitals.