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S 18 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 • O P T O M E T R I C M A N A G E M E N T . C O M potential to provide eye care to more than 5 million people over the next 10 years. We will continue to support the development of these schools over the coming years, in partnership with the Brien Holden Vision Institute and others, with a particular focus on Haiti, Mexico, Vietnam and Nicaragua. Child Eye Health is another priority area and we are pleased to have been invited to be a Global Partner in the recently announced "Our Children's Vision" campaign that aims to screen 50 million school children by 2020 and pro- vide eye health care and spectacles for those who cannot af- ford them. Te campaign is initiated by the Brien Holden Vi- sion Institute and Essilor Vision for Life with support from the Revo / Bono "Buy Vision, Give Sight" campaign and a coalition of industry and non-industry partners. Another ongoing priority area is the funding support provided for advocacy and community education. Although seemingly less tangible, these activities are vital for raising awareness of the economic and social impact that uncor- rected refractive error has on local communities, and for mobilizing appropriate fnancial and policy responses from governments, professional associations, NGOs, volunteer groups, multi lateral agencies such as the World Health Or- ganization, and others. Over recent years, there has been a signifcant increase in the numbers of organizations who now recognize uncorrect- ed refractive error as a major public eye health issue, and who are committed to funding and implementing sustainable pro- grams that build local capacity and provide access to aford- able, ongoing eye and vision care. Optometry Giving Sight's advocacy work has been a signifcant factor in this increase. Te recognition of the Optometrist's key role as primary eye care provider is central to the achievement of our objec- tives. A recent example is in Mexico, where in early 2015, a OPTOMETRY GIVING SIGHT S P O N S O R E D B Y O P T O M E T R Y G I V I N G S I G H T F OR THE PAST 10 YEARS, Optometry Giving Sight and its project partners have made a signifcant impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of fami- lies and communities. More than US$11 million in fund- ing from donors and sponsors has been disbursed to 72 projects in 37 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Americas and Eastern Europe. Tis has helped to provide basic eye care services to 4 million people; train more than 10,000 eye care personnel and support the establishment of 133 vision cen- ters and optical laboratories. Te Board of Optometry Giving Sight, which is comprised of representatives from founding members the Brien Holden Vision Institute, World Council of Optometry and Interna- tional Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, has always maintained that the building of local capacity ("teaching people how to fsh") is the key to eliminating the backlog of preventable blindness and vision impairment, currently es- timated to be more than 600 million people. For this reason, more than 30% of our total disbursements currently support the development of optometry programs and Schools of Optometry in countries where there are few, if any, locally trained optometrists. Tis represents a signif- cant long-term investment in these countries, to not only produce graduates, but also to ensure they are supported and integrated into a functioning public health system. Tere are currently 350 students in degree and diploma programs in 9 optometry programs / Schools of Optometry that have received funding from Optometry Giving Sight; 109 students have now graduated with a degree or diploma; and 21 graduates are being developed as future faculty to en- sure the long-term sustainability of the programs. At a conservative estimate these graduates alone have the OPTOME TRIC MANAGEMENT CORPORATE PROFILE Dr. Juan Carlos Aragon Chairman Optometry Giving Sight Clive Miller CEO Optometry Giving Sight