HELEN KELLER INTERNATIONAL

EYEHEALTH: CURRENTLY 1 IN 7 PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ARE BLIND OR LIVING WITH SOME FORM OF VISION LOSS, YET A STAGGERING 90% OF VISION LOSS IS PREVENTABLE OR TREATABLE. VISION LOSS CAN HAVE AN INCREDIBLE IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S QUALITY OF LIFE, IMPACTING CHILDREN AND FAMILY MEMBERS' ABILITY TO LEARN, FORM FRIENDSHIPS, EARN A LIVING, AND TO REMAIN SAFE. IT CAN EVEN SET THEM ON A COURSE FOR GENERATIONS OF POVERTY. TO PROTECT VISION, HELEN KELLER INTL PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL HEALTH NETWORKS TO IMPROVE THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY EYE HEALTH SERVICES TO CHILDREN AND ADULTS WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO ADEQUATE, AFFORDABLE CARE. IN AFRICA AND ASIA, WE TRAIN, EQUIP, AND PROVIDE ONGOING SUPPORT TO CLINICIANS HELPING THEM TREAT PEOPLE WITH CATARACT, REFRACTIVE ERROR, AND DIABETIC RETINOPATHY. IN THE UNITED STATES, WE PARTNER WITH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE VISION SCREENINGS, EYE EXAMS, AND PRESCRIPTION GLASSES FOR VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ADULTS. LAST YEAR WE SUPPORTED VISIONS SCREENINGS FOR MORE THAN 136,000 STUDENTS AND ADULTS GLOBALLY, OF WHICH 119,600 RESIDED IN THE UNITED STATES, AND PROVIDED FREE EYEGLASSES TO OVER 31,600 (OR 78%) OF THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH REFRACTIVE ERROR. IN 14 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, HELEN KELLER IS DELIVERING VISION-PROTECTING VITAMIN A TO MILLIONS OF CHILDREN, STAVING OFF BLINDNESS AND BUILDING IMMUNE SYSTEMS.

NUTRITION: TODAY AS MANY AS 318 MILLION FACE ACUTE LEVELS OF FOOD INSECURITY. ONGOING STRESSORS INCLUDING CLIMATE CHANGE, RISING INFLATION, AND INSTABILITY AND CONFLICTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE MADE NUTRITIOUS FOOD UNAFFORDABLE OR INACCESSIBLE TO MILLIONS OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AT GREATEST RISK. TO REDUCE MALNUTRITION, HELEN KELLER INTL PARTNERS WITH GOVERNMENTS, COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS IN AFRICA AND ASIA TO REACH INFANTS, CHILDREN, MOTHERS, AND FAMILIES WITH CLIMATE-SMART FARMING TRAINING, BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT, ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF MALNUTRITION, COMPLEMENTARY HIGH-NUTRIENT FOODS, AND CRITICAL VITAMINS AND NUTRIENTS LIKE IMMUNE-BUILDING VITAMIN A.LAST YEAR, HELEN KELLER PARTNERED WITH 14 AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS TO REACH OVER 47 MILLION CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE WITH TWO DOSES OF VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTATION. WE ALSO CONTINUED OUR SUPPORT TO GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES IN LARGE SCALE FOOD FORTIFICATION IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES ACROSS AFRICA (BURKINA FASO, NIGERIA, AND SENEGAL) TO EXPLORE FORTIFICATION OF BOUILLON CUBES. WE ESTIMATE HAVING REACHED MORE THAN 2.2 MILLION FAMILIES WITH BETTER ACCESS TO MICRONUTRIENT-RICH FOODS SINCE WE FIRST BEGAN SUPPORTING THESE APPROACHES MORE THAN THREE DECADES AGO.