Mission
The Combat Blindness Foundation (CBF) is a non-profit health organization dedicated to eradicating preventable blindness in the developing world.


History
After years of traveling to India to lecture and demonstrate high technology retinal and vitreous surgery at various Indian medical institutions, Dr. Suresh Chandra, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, realized high-tech surgery was not the answer to the overwhelming blindness that existed in India.  He learned that the major cause of blindness in all developing countries was a result of cataracts in adults and vitamin A deficiency (xerophthalmia) in children.  In 1984, he and a group of concerned individuals formed the Combat Blindness Foundation (CBF), thanks to a single generous donor.  Today, community leaders in Madison serve as the Board of Directors as well as renowned ophthalmologists from around the world who serve on the Advisory Board run the Foundation.

The first major effort of CBF involved collaborating with the King George's Medical College in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. This effort was a significant achievement, providing eye care to 1,328 patients and restoring sight to 319 people blind due to cataracts. This was just the beginning.

After five years, 27,370 patients had been examined and 6,492 free cataract surgeries performed. By the end of 2000, after 15 years of sponsorship, 452,984 patients have been examined, and 70,580 cataract surgeries have been performed.  CBF has also supported the building of an intraocular lenses and suture factory at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, called Aurolab.  Today, Aurolab produces high quality intraocular lenses (IOLs) and sutures at a fraction of the cost of those produced in the United States. Many of the lenses and sutures produced are supplied at cost to non-profit users in India and other developing countries, including many projects supported by CBF.

Over the last 20 years, CBF has sponsored over 2,300 eye screening projects in developing countries, screened over 600,000 patients, and funded over 100,000 free cataract surgeries for people who could not otherwise afford the procedure.  Most of  CBF’s work has been done  in collaboration with Aravind Eye Hospital, King George's Medical College, LV Prasad Eye Hospital, and Sitapur Eye Hospital located in India.  Other projects have been supported in India, Kenya, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

CBF is also a member of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight, a global joint initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).  The goal of Vision 2020 is to eliminate avoidable blindness worldwide by the year 2020 in order to give everyone the Right to Sight.