Orbis’ REACH scheme tests 330,000 Nepalese children

Eye care charity Orbis collaborated with Nepal’s National Society of Comprehensive Eye Care (NNJS) to deliver eye health services to 969 children schools across Nepal through the REACH (Refractive Error Among Children) programme. 

Between 2019 and 2022, eye services tested 330,000 school children aged 6-18 years old for refractive error in the eastern Siraha and Parsa districts, with 6,476 spectacles prescribed and 3,083 children diagnosed and referred with other eye diseases. 

During the restrictions of the pandemic, Orbis adopted a door-to-door approach, which involved screening children within their homes. 

As a result, the government has embraced the need to integrate eye health into school health programmes across the country.