Context

In France, 1 out of 5 children suffers from a visual impairment, yet 80% of learning occurs through sight. Many families can not afford eyecare because of the prohibitive cost of glasses, the wait times to see an ophthalmologist and the lack of information about the eye health course. PlanVue 2018-2019 recorded a prevalence rate of visual disturbances among students of 23%; the second year, currently underway, has so far recorded an average rate of 23% in 2018 and of approximately 38% in 2019.

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Supported Project 

In 2020, L'OCCITANE France and the L'OCCITANE Foundation are supporting Helen Keller International Europe and its "Plan Vue" program inspired by ChildSight®, an HKI program conducted in Burkina Faso, the United States, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. The project aims to raise awareness, screen, treat and monitor over time the visual impairment of schoolchildren in priority areas.

PlanVue 2020-2021 is composed of 5 distinct phases:

  1. Awareness is aimed at students in the form of edutainment workshops set up by HKIE and teachers, at teachers in the form of training in the identification of visual disorders and tools via sessions led by Crée Ton Avenir and the provision of educational resources on an online platform, and finally to parents in the form of awareness raising during back-to-school meetings, parent cafés and a program information booklet.
  2. Identification consists of testing the eyesight of students in schools in partnership with the C.A.D.E.T., an association of professional and local orthoptists, with the support of school medicine.
  3. Then, PlanVue accompanies the families to the medical examination, where partner ophthalmologists diagnose the students identified. A treatment is then prescribed, either for glasses or for other care (for example, referral to the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital for serious cases).
  4. Families are accompanied to partner opticians for treatment in the event of a refractive error, and are provided with a pair of glasses with no remainder to pay. The others are referred to a competent health professional
  5. Finally, the impact evaluation makes it possible to identify local needs, measure the impact of the program and identify areas for improvement.

Some figures

Budget 40.000 euros

Goal to 2025 12,753 beneficiaries

Result 1,193 students screened