World Sight Day: Over 400,000 Beneficiaries, One Priceless Gift

When a child struggles to read, a trader finds it difficult to recognise customers, or an older person needs help navigating familiar surroundings, poor eyesight can make everyday life more challenging. It can affect learning, earning a living and maintaining independence. In many cases, an eye examination, corrective glasses or timely treatment can make a difference. But what happens when these services are out of reach?

That is the need First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation (TCF) set out to address when they launched Priceless Gift of Sight in 2009. By July 2024, the programme had provided free eye care to over 400,000 Nigerians, including eye tests, optical services, surgeries, and disease management.

Last week’s World Sight Day commemoration brought the next challenge into focus: how to make care accessible to more people—and keep it available.

FCMB held a roundtable meeting with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through the National Eye, Ear and Sensory Functions Health Programme, and TCF to discuss partnerships and sustainable funding.

The task is practical. Eye tests need to lead to treatment. Clinics need skilled people and functioning equipment. Patients need support to complete their care.

After more than 15 years of partnership, the goal remains close to everyday life: helping more people see a lesson, serve a customer or find their way home.