The event was attended by internationally acclaimed actor and director, Mr Kabir Bedi who is also the Honorary Brand Ambassador for Sightsavers India, and Shri Amit Kumar Ghosh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Sightsavers India has commemorated the successful five year completion of RAAHI – National Truckers Eye Health Programme. RAAHI seeks to ensure that truckers with refractive errors receive glasses in the most convenient way possible, that they wear them consistently, and they seek regular eye examinations. The programme operates on a hub-and-spoke model, with static vision centres (‘RAAHI Drishti Kendras’) and outreach camps. These services include vision screening, refraction, blood pressure checks, body weight measurement, cataract check-ups, and eye-health counselling and referrals.

The celebration began with the screening of a short film presented by Sightsavers India and Cholamandalam, which was followed by the unveiling of “Eyes on the highway” a five year journey report, which highlighted the recorded data, progress, and insights of the National Truckers Eye Health Programme till date, as well as another report on the impact and effectiveness of ready-to-clip spectacles among truck drivers over the course of five years. Ready2ClipTM (R2C) spectacles were introduced into RAAHI Programme in order to reduce the Programme waste caused by the non-collection of custom-made spectacles.

Sightsavers’ Honorary Brand Ambassador, Mr Kabir Bedi, Mr Amit Ghosh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; Dr Caroline Harper, Global CEO, Sightsavers; Mr R N Mohanty, CEO at Sightsavers India; and Dr SY Quraishi, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sightsavers India graced the event.

“RAAHI is a flagship programme of Sightsavers. I am very happy to present the RAAHI film which marks 5 years journey of Sightsavers and Cholamandalam partnership in serving truckers across the country. Over the years, Sightsavers and Cholamandalam have together contributed greatly towards providing eye care services to the trucking community in India. The RAAHI Programme has made a significant impact in the lives of the truck drivers and has played a critical role in addressing problems like eye health and road safety,” said Dr SY Quraishi, Honorary Chairman, Sightsavers India Board.

“There are about 9 million truck drivers on Indian roads bringing us everything we need, to our homes. We were shocked to discover, of the 9 million truck drivers, 50% had vision problems. In 2017, Sightsavers started the RAAHI initiative to bring eye care to the truckers,” said Mr Kabir Bedi, Honorary Brand Ambassador, Sightsavers India.

“In our Bombay Urban Eye Health Programme, we saw many truck drivers are coming and getting their eyes checked. We segregated this data, of around 5,000 to 6,000 drivers and did a small analysis, and we figured out that close to 47% of truck drivers have eye problems. That was from where the idea of RAAHI came to create a national programme for truckers in India,” said Mr RN Mohanty, CEO at Sightsavers India.