The company will expand its inclusive business and philanthropic programmes to answer the unmet needs of 900 million people living with uncorrected poor vision in the Commonwealth and will provide 200 million people living below the poverty line with free ophthalmic lenses.

The $1bn Vision Catalyst Fund was created in April 2018 to bring eye care to all people in the Commonwealth. Essilor, which has an ambition to eradicate poor vision by 2050, is a strategic partner of this new Vision Catalyst Fund which brings civil society and public-private stakeholders together to provide sustainable solutions for eye health in the Commonwealth and around the world.

Essilor has committed to extend its inclusive business and philanthropic programmes to meet the unmet vision needs of 900 million people living with uncorrected refractive errors in the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, help create a legacy of improved vision care infrastructure and provide 200 million people living below the poverty line with free ophthalmic lenses.

A pair of glasses has the power to change a person’s life and create positive ripple effects on the social and economic development of their community. Essilor has been working for many years to provide vision care at the base of the pyramid. As creator of the largest rural optical network in the world, Essilor addresses the two biggest barriers to good vision for all; access and awareness. By training primary vision care providers and creating last mile connectivity to locally-relevant product innovation, Essilor has gathered unique experience deploying sustainable vision care programmes for the most underserved communities.

Partnering with organisations plays a central role in Essilor’s initiatives to bring vision care to the 2.5 billion people living with uncorrected poor vision through inclusive business programmes, strategic giving, and advocacy. Notable partnerships include the support of the Australian Government to expand Essilor’s Eye Mitra inclusive business programme into Bangladesh, and the selection of Essilor by the Indian State Governments of Telangana to provide glasses to millions in need.