The dire situation facing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people is currently one of the world’s fastest growing refugee crises. Since August 2017, more than 700,000 men, women and children have risked their lives by sea or over land in a desperate attempt to escape violence, persecution, and the destruction of their villages.
Displaced from their homes and the lives they once knew, many Rohingya people are living in abject poverty, with little or no access to basic health care services, including eye care.
Forced to flee for their lives, many have sought refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh - a country where more than 34.3 million people are already suffering from blindness or visual impairment. The influx of refugees has placed even grater strain on an already overwhelmed eye care network.