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Odisha State Network for Universal Eye Health (OSEHN)

context

VISION 2020: The Right to Sight-INDIA (VISION 2020 INDIA ) is guided by its five-year strategic plans (present plan exists for 2021-2026) and has an oversight by a 17 members Board comprising the government eye care institution, national not-for-profit eye care institutions and International NGOs that meets once a quarter and discusses programmatic aspects for improved eye care in line with its vision and mission and as outlined in the strategic plan.
The present strategic plan (April 2021-March 2026) guides VISION 2020 INDIA to bring together the eye health stakeholders at state level and create an effective platform for strengthening the eye care work in the state. Further, the Plan states that while the policy development largely takes place at national level through National Program for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), the policy implementation takes place at state level and below. The policy implementation requires good coordination, collaboration, policy engagement across the state with the government and non-government partners. It is in this context, the idea of state level networks is born having a primary objective of ensuring the universal eye health with the key principle of integrated people centred eye care as envisioned in the World Report on Vision (WRV)

Formation of Odisha State Network for Universal Eye Health (OSEHN)

The Odisha State Universal Eye Health consultation was held on 28 May 2022 in Bhubaneswar. The consultation was focused to bring the NGO & Private Sector Eye Care providers in the state together to discuss the areas of mutual cooperation, strategic engagement, institutional productivity, eye health leadership and governance issues in the state, policy engagement priorities and ways to delivering equity & quality in universal eye healthcare. 101 people from 67 eye hospitals from across the State participated.

Launch of OSEHN

The Odisha State Network for Universal Eye Health (OSEHN) has been officially launched on 2 July 2023 in Bhubaneswar. Eighty-three participants from across the Odisha participated. The program was officially launched by the government officials including the State Program Officer. The capacity building session was conducted by Dr Asim Sil and Dr Uday Gajiwala that focused on OT protocols and patient safety taken from the Cataract management manual of VISION 2020 India.

How would the state eye health network function?

The Terms of Reference for state eye health network was developed. However, it needs a proper structure to operate the ToR in collaboration, coordination, and partnership with state level players including the government. The structure, called as a Core Committee would act a focal point for all the eye care development work representing the civil society in the state.

Core Committee of OSEHN

An Expression of Interest was sent to all those who attended the consultation held on 28 May 2022. Few institutions came forward to be on the core committee. It is to be noted that institution is the member of the core committee, and not the individual. The core committee meets periodically and discusses programmatic issues.
The core committee was initially set up with 5 institutions in November 2022. The committee has been later expanded to 9 institutions. In addition, Sightsavers India, Odisha, is the member convener.
The core committee is selected initially for a period of 3 years and later may change as per the need.

Membership in the state network

The Odisha State Network for Universal Eye Health is a collaborative platform established to strengthen partnerships in promoting eye health and vision care in the region. It serves as a common platform for eye health professionals, institutions, experts, government bodies, NGOs, and regional and global agencies and networks. We invite all eye health institutions and private practitioners in Odisha to join the Odisha State Network for Universal Eye Health. Membership is presently free and open to individuals and institutions who are passionate about promoting eye health and are committed to working collaboratively to achieve our shared vision. Interested people/institutions may write to osehn2022@gmail.com

Meetings of Core Committee