Fri Nov 15 14:36:25 UTC 2024: ## LVPEI’s Pyramid Model: A Beacon of Accessible Eye Care in India

**HYDERABAD, INDIA (November 15, 2024):** Despite India’s economic progress, disparities in education and healthcare persist, pushing lakhs into poverty due to high medical costs. Addressing this critical issue, Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao, founder-chair of LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), highlighted the need for innovation aimed at human welfare, achievable through visionary institutions like LVPEI.

Delivering the 13th N.J. Yasaswy Memorial Lecture at ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Dr. Rao lauded LVPEI’s groundbreaking “pyramid model” which has made eye care accessible to millions, even in remote areas. This model, with a focus on affordability and accessibility, comprises a multi-tiered system:

* **Vision Guardians:** Community-based volunteers monitor eye health in groups of 5,000 people.
* **Vision Centres:** Local personnel staff these centres, providing primary eye health services for village clusters.
* **Secondary Eye Care Centres:** Cataract surgeries are performed at these centres.
* **Tertiary Care Hospitals:** Offering comprehensive eye care, these hospitals also send doctors to secondary centres.
* **Centres of Excellence:** These top-tier facilities treat complex eye diseases.

This multi-pronged approach, further supported by mobile diagnostic vehicles, has resulted in the treatment of 38 million patients, 2.3 million surgeries, and over 50,000 corneal transplants – the highest in the world. The model has also been replicated in Liberia.

Dr. Rao emphasized that LVPEI’s commitment to accessibility ensures free services for economically disadvantaged groups, while over 90% of its expenses are met by patients who can afford to pay.

Former Reserve Bank of India governor and ICFAI University Chancellor C. Rangarajan stressed the need for universal healthcare and called for institutions that cross-subsidize healthcare like LVPEI. While advocating for increased health expenditure, he emphasized the importance of ensuring efficient allocation.

The event also commemorated the contributions of N.J. Yasaswy, founder of ICFAI Group, to promoting higher education in the private sector.

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