In celebration of World Sight Day last week, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan conducted vision screening for 800 children in five cities across the country under its Pakistan Urban Paediatric (PUP) Eye Care Programme .The Eye Care Programme was initiated last year to identify blind and low vision children and provide them with the required eye care services such as surgeries and provision of spectacles and low vision devices within the framework of National Eye Health Plan of Pakistan. Some 130 volunteers comprising trained staff members of the Bank in partnership with government and NGOs helped conduct screening for underprivileged children in Karachi , Lahore , Rawalpindi , Multan and Faisalabad . All Standard Chartered staff get three voluntary paid leave days annually to encourage them to take part in any community projects. Mr. Mohsin Nathani, Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Pakistan said, “Early eye screenings are critical for the health and wellbeing of children and this programme will hopefully ensure that every child has the gift of sight for many years to come. Undoubtedly, more could be done to eliminate avoidable blindness in the country and individual organisations like Standard Chartered can only be part of the solution. Through our staff, resources and client network we hope to raise new investment for the campaign, and World Sight Day provides an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the initiative.”
