House of Lords, London | January 31, 2026: Global leaders, Parliamentarians, healthcare pioneers, philanthropists, and representatives/leaders of several community and professional organizations came together at the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace, House of Lords at the iconic Parliament of the United Kingdom on January 31st, 2026, to commemorate the International Day for a World Without Childhood Blindness (IDWWCB) and celebrate 49 years of dedicated service by the Eye Foundation of America (EFA)—a global organization that has been restoring sight and safeguarding children’s futures since 1977.
The high-level commemoration marked January 31 as a defining global moment for sight, education, and equity, reinforcing the urgent call to eliminate preventable childhood blindness worldwide.
The event was chaired by Lord Rami Ranger, Member of the House of Lords, and brought together a distinguished gathering of global voices committed to advancing child eye health as a public health and development priority.
In his welcome address, Lord Rami Ranger said, “This is indeed a privilege and pleasure to welcome you to the House of Lords, a place where decisions are made, which will touch the life of almost everyone in the world. I’m also delighted to have so many distinguished guests who have been recognized by the government of India, by the United Kingdom, and many dignitaries from all over the world who are here.”
While stressing the need and policy significance of the mission to have the world without childhood blindness, Lord Ranger said, “The House of Lords stands today not only for tradition and governance, but for conscience and global responsibility. A world without childhood blindness is not an aspiration—it is an achievable goal if governments, philanthropy, and civil society act together.”
Taking the audience to 1977 when he chose to take on the mission of rendering the world without childhood blindness, Dr. V. K. Raju, Founder and Visionary Leader of EFA, said, “Forty-nine years ago, this mission began with one simple belief—that no child should go blind because of poverty or lack of access. Today, that belief has become a global responsibility. Childhood blindness is preventable, and together, we have the power to end it.”
The Eye Foundation of America was founded following the first eye camp organized by Dr. V. K. Raju in Vijayawada, India, in 1977—an act of service that sparked a movement now spanning India, Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
After witnessing “BLIND YEARS” in children in India, the then young ophthalmologist, Dr. Raju, brought in the most modern vitrectomy instrument to India in 1979. While bringing in the first-ever modern instrument in India, Dr. Raju had problems at the Customs. Not discouraged by the challenges, Dr. Raju, with the objective of making these modern technology and treatment from the Western world to the children in India, he founded the Eye Foundation.
Over the past 49 years, EFA has delivered scalable, high-impact programs focused on prevention, early detection, treatment, and long-term systems strengthening, particularly for underserved and vulnerable children.
Offering an overview of childhood blindness and its impact on children, Dr. Raju told an enthusiastic audience that childhood blindness has far-reaching consequences. Three-fourths of the children with visual impairment never attend school. Blindness reduces employability by 50%. Blindness increases poverty and social isolation. Studies have shown that of the 3.5 million premature babies born in India, nearly one in six (600,000) babies are born less than 32 weeks gestational age. Estimating that 40% of them receive neonatal care and 80% of them survive, over 200,000 children are at risk for developing Retinopathy of Prematurity, Dr. Raju pointed out.
Dr. Raju has dedicated his entire life to helping make “the world where every child can see, learn, and thrive without the shadows of blindness.” Describing it as “God’s work” that he and the Eye Foundation are doing, Dr. Raju urged “everyone to join in the mission to eradicate childhood blindness, a tragedy, we can prevent it. Every child deserves to see the world with clarity and purpose. Let’s join hands to eradicate childhood blindness and unlock a brighter future for generations to come.”
Senior parliamentarians, healthcare leaders, Rotarians, policy advocates, diplomats, and global media representatives, emphasized that eliminating childhood blindness requires institutional partnerships, integration into public health systems, and corporate and philanthropic engagement at scale. EFA’s model—combining clinical excellence, local capacity building, and global partnerships—was cited as a benchmark for sustainable, measurable impact.
The commemoration featured addresses and participation from eminent leaders across sectors, including: Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Chief (China), who emphasized the interlinkage between child vision, education, and sustainable development; Padma Bhushan Dr. Vara Prasad Reddy, Chairman of Shanta Biotechnics, who highlighted the role of innovation, leadership, and ethical philanthropy in public health transformation.
Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, leader in development, humanitarian action, and global partnerships, in his address, highlighted the need for “leadership that understands that there are consequences of inaction, so that momentum of change has to be endured with purpose and conviction.”
Highlighting the leadership of Dr. Raju, he said, “I hope many can emulate you. Dr Raju, I know that with your daughter here, we will see a continuity into the future of this organization, and I hope many people will come together to help make that difference. And we have a choice. We have the technology. We have the convergence of big data technology to leap from that change and combine that with artificial intelligence. We can change things. We can find solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems.”
Dr. Sam Maddula, a Board Member and Major Donor of the Eye Foundation of America, a distinguished leader, visionary entrepreneur, and dedicated philanthropist, shared his life story with the audience, as to how his life turned from darkness to light as his parents stumbled upon an Eye Camp that the Eye Foundation of America had set up in 1987 in rural Andhra Pradesh.
Dr. Sam Maddula, who reaffirmed the importance of long-term, outcomes-driven investment in childhood blindness prevention. He said, “Restoring sight is not charity—it is one of the most powerful investments we can make in a child’s future and in a nation’s human capital.”
“History will remember not how many conferences we held, but how many children we helped see,” said Padma Shri Dr. Mukesh Batra, Global ambassador of homeopathy, founder of Dr. Batra’s Healthcare, advocate for holistic and ethical healthcare.
Earlier in his welcome address, Rotarian Sandeep Saxena said, “True transformation happened when public policy, private capital, and civil society move together. The Eye Foundation of America has demonstrated this model year after year through scalable programs, transparent governance, and major impact leadership that inspires us. Today, we honor not just an organization, but the leadership that sustains it. I pay special tribute to Dr. V K Raju, whose lifelong dedication has inspired generations across continents.”
Dr. Leela Raju, Ophthalmologist and President of EFA, humanitarian leader expanding global eye care programs for underserved children, while proposing the Vote of Thanks, said, ““What we hope that we bring from today’s meeting is that everyone understands that not only that the sight of a child matters, but the sight of children everywhere matters, and that we can eradicate avoidable blindness as long as we all come together.”
Sharing her own personal experiences as a practicing ophthalmologist, she said, “I see how changing vision affects people every day, but especially in a child, and we’ve all heard about how much vision affects a child’s vision, child’s ability to grow and get the educated, but we still have too many children that don’t have access to eye care.”
She extended her gratitude to “our donors and benefactors, our board members, the medical professionals that we work with in multiple countries. I want to thank the number of different governments, international agencies, CSR, leaders, who have also helped join us and have recognized how much vision matters in child’s learning. And if we all work together, we can make sure that eye health is part of public health systems, especially for premature infants, and we ensure that no child is denied sight because of where they were born, and we can hope that this International Day for a world without childhood blindness not just becomes a goal, but also a promise globally.”
January 31: A Call to the World
The International Day for a World Without Childhood Blindness highlights the stark reality that over 90% of a child’s learning happens through vision, yet millions of children continue to face avoidable blindness—undermining education, economic mobility, and generational progress.
The day aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education), positioning child eye health as a cross-cutting development imperative.
Looking Ahead: The Next 50 Years
As EFA enters its 50th year of service, the organization called upon: Governments to integrate child eye health into national health and education strategies; Corporates to adopt sight restoration as a high-impact CSR priority; International agencies to recognise childhood blindness as a development emergency; Global citizens to champion sight as a fundamental right
Calling upon the world leaders assembled at the House of Lords, Dr. Raju said, “It is not a desire, not a wish. It is the commitment we have. Let this gathering not be another discussion. Let it be a point of convergence where policy meets the medicine, and the philosophy meets the need, and the intention meets the action.”
About the Eye Foundation of America (EFA)
The Eye Foundation of America, founded by Dr. V.K. Raju in 1977, is a global non-profit dedicated to preventing blindness through service, education, and research. EFA has impacted millions across India, Africa, UK and the U.S. by delivering high-quality eye care in underserved regions. Registered and operational in the United States, United Kingdom, and India, EFA works across Asia and Africa through hospitals, screening programs, training initiatives, and public health partnerships. For more details please contact: www.eyefoundationofamerica.org
