Essilor partners with the Royal Government of Bhutan in its ambition to become the first country in the world to eradicate poor vision

CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Essilor commits to further expanding its unique inclusive business and philanthropic programmes to eradicate unprotected and uncorrected poor vision in the Kingdom of Bhutan, where 25% of the population suffer from uncorrected refractive errors and much of the population is at risk of exposure to UVA/UVB rays due to high altitude.

Hubert Sagnieres, Chairman, Essilor, with Dr. Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bhutan.

The Group has today signed Letters of Intent with the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Central Monastic Body to sustainably strengthen the country's vision care infrastructure. In line with their common ambition to eradicate unprotected and uncorrected poor vision, the partners will address the two biggest barriers to good vision, access and awareness, through training and capacity building, philanthropic support and awareness-raising.

Chairman of Essilor, Hubert Sagnieres, commented: "Poor vision affects every aspect of a person's life, impacting their ability to learn, to work, to live independently and to realize their full potential. We are proud to be collaborating with the Bhutanese government to develop a strategy and actions which will see poor vision eradicated from the country. This will bring further prosperity and happiness to its people and Essilor one important step closer to its ambition of eradicating poor vision worldwide within one generation."

Speaking about the partnership, Bhutan's Minister of Health, Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo, said: "I am extremely happy to share, under the patronage of Her Majesty the Royal Grandmother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck, that the Ministry of Health is honoured to be a partner in Essilor's vision to eradicate poor vision. I am confident that this partnership is the start of a compassionate friendship with a common goal to render help to the most in need."

To address the lack of skilled eye care professionals and access to eyewear, Essilor will bring its most successful inclusive-business, Eye Mitra™ ("Friend of the eye" in Hindi), from India to Bhutan. By training women and men to become primary vision care providers, Essilor will support them to open up optical stores in their communities. This will not only help to sustainably improve access to affordable quality eyecare, but also to bring socio-economic value to rural communities.

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