Vision entrepreneurs
The packaging of health services as commodities to be distributed through the private sector has been used in the likes of family planning, the treatment of sexually transmitted disease and for insecticide-treated bednets. This approach aims to standardise and assure quality of care while minimising costs and creating incentives to providers to make cost-effective services available.
VisionSpring is an organisation which empowers local entrepreneurs to provide eye care services to poor rural communities, and creates a source of livelihoods for these individuals. VisionSpring launched its first pilot in India in 2001. Today it supports local entrepreneurs to provide eye care services to thousands of people in Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
VisionSpring’s ‘Business in a Bag’ model features a sales kit containing the products and materials needed to market and sell eyeglasses. It also trains local people to conduct eye care marketing and awareness-raising campaigns; host one-day "vision campaigns" in underserved villages; sell a selection of affordable eyeglasses supplied by VisionSpring; and refer those in need of advanced eye care to partner clinics.
The ‘Vision Entrepreneurs’ model has proven to be sustainable and replicable. It is now being replicated in partnership with NGOs in other countries, including Nicaragua and Paraguay. Key factors necessary for the success of the ‘Vision Entrepreneurs’ model are:
- The service provided does not rely heavily on clinical skill for diagnosis or management of treatment.
- The managerial staff and local people recruited to become Vision Entrepreneurs have the appropriate skills and profile required.
- An appropriate sales format was adopted through regular ‘eye camps’ in villages and door-to-door selling to convert pending sales or to follow up.
Arunesh Singh
VisionSpring India, Sai Nagar Colony
Picket, Secunderabad 500009
Andhra Pradesh, India
asingh@visionspring.org
