You cannot screen babies without people who know how.

Preventable childhood blindness remains a major challenge in many low-resource settings, where conditions that can be easily treated are often missed due to late detection and limited access to eye care. Many children lose their sight not because treatment is unavailable, but because problems are identified too late.

Community health workers, as trusted members of the communities they serve, can play a vital role in spotting early signs of eye problems, educating families, and linking children to care. Strengthening their role in basic screening and referral can help ensure more children receive timely treatment and avoid lifelong blindness.

Solution

Hands-on, practical, regionally rooted training.

EyeSHA is working with local health authorities in Tanzania to stop preventable childhood blindness before it starts. By training and equipping community health workers to screen newborns and young children, the program brings early eye checks directly into communities where access to care is limited. So far, 60 community health workers have been trained and deployed with basic screening tools to identify eye problems early and refer children for timely treatment. This community-led approach ensures more children are seen early—when sight can still be saved—and offers a powerful opportunity for partners to help scale impact and change lives.