1. SightFirst Program
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Linda Romano-Derr
Regional Program Specialist, South Asia

2. SightFirst
• SightFirst is a global initiative with the purpose of
eliminating avoidable blindness as a global public
health concern
• Mission: To build comprehensive eye care systems
in underserved communities so that high-quality, lowcost, and sustainable services can be provided.
• Lions develop and manage SightFirst projects in
partnership with local health authorities, eye care
professionals and non-governmental organizations.

3. SightFirst Accomplishments
• Restored sight to 7.68 million people through cataract
surgeries
• 30 million people saved from vision loss
• Provided 147 million treatments for river blindness
• Built or upgraded 704 eye-care facilities
• Trained 659,000 ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses,
other professional eye care workers and village health
workers
• Established 35 pediatric eye care centers, impacting the
lives of 121 million children in partnership with the WHO

4. MD 322 SightFirst Team: Who’s who?
Dr. Divyesh Shah
Linda Romano-Derr
Zenobia Kaikobad

5. The SightFirst Application Review Process

6. Possible SAC outcomes:

7. What elements are we looking for in an
application?
•
Controlling blinding diseases
• Cataract
• River blindness
• Trachoma
• Diabetic retinopathy
•
Human resources training
•
Strengthening eye care
infrastructure

8. Strongest SightFirst Applications include:
• Detailed, comprehensive project plan that encompasses both
prevention and treatment.
• Proposal should focus on how the project will impact a
community in need. (Not how it will benefit you)
• Partnerships: the strongest projects include multiple partners,
contributors to the overall budget.
• Clear and attainable objectives*
• Strong candidates are hospitals with connections to broader
networks. We’re in the business of developing comprehensive
eye care systems.

9. Helpful Tips
• Most proposals focus on more than one disease area (cataract,
DR, URE, low vision, etc.)
• Most applicants are either already providing or looking to
expand their ability to provide comprehensive eye care services
• Therefore:
• Provide information about existing non-cataract services
• Objectives should include all screened/treated disease
areas – not just cataract
• Note: comprehensiveness does NOT mean that every hospital
must treat every possible condition.

10. Key Principles for a strong SightFirst Application
1. Develop comprehensive eye care systems
2. Target underserved populations
3. Deliver high-quality eye care services
4. Create sustainable eye care services
5. Use data to identify and evaluate efforts
6. Hands-on Lions involvement
7. Emphasis on strategic partnerships with corporations,
governments and NGOs.

11. SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives
COMPREHENSIVENESS
Cataract
Childhood Blindness
Trachoma
Education & Rehabilitation
for Blind & Low vision
Persons
Eye Health Education
SightFirst portfolio
Low Vision
URE
Comprehensive Regional
Training
Diabetic Retinopathy
River Blindness
Research
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.

12. SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives
 Cataract
 Childhood Blindness
 Trachoma
 Education &
Rehabilitation for Blind
& Low vision Persons
 Eye Health Education
 Low Vision
 Human Resource Development
 Infrastructure Development
 Prevention
 Monitoring &
Evaluation
 Service Delivery
 URE
 Comprehensive
Regional Training
 Diabetic Retinopathy
 River Blindness
 Research
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.
Objectives

13. SightFirst Grants: 11 strategies & 5 objectives
 Cataract
Detection
 Service Delivery
 Childhood Blindness
Treatment
 Trachoma
Rehabilitation
 Education &
Rehabilitation for Blind
& Low vision Persons
 Eye Health Education
 Low Vision
 Human
Resource
Development
Survey
Eye Care Professionals
Community Health Workers
 Infrastructure
Development
School Teachers
Equipment
 URE
 Comprehensive
Regional Training
 Prevention
Advocacy
 Diabetic Retinopathy
 River Blindness
 Research
Expansion
Public Relations
 Monitoring &
Evaluation
We Care. We Serve. We Accomplish.
Education Materials

14. www.lcif.org
THANK YOU