Article

ZEISS Vision Care Supports Community Eye Care in Senegal

Contributing to better access to vision and eye care in an unserved region

29 September 2025

^{Article first published: March 2024

Updated: September 2025}

As one of the projects of ZEISS Social Engagement, the first community eye clinic was opened in Missirah by ZEISS Vision Care Spain, the Cione Ruta de la Luz Foundation and Dentists on Wheels. The town of Missirah is located in the Taubacouta district of the Fatick region of Senegal and has a population of more than 10,000 people who previously had little or no access to eye and vision care. The ambitious project represents a significant milestone for the visual health of this large, needy population suffering from severe vision problems.

Joint project by ZEISS, Dentists on Wheels and the Cione Ruta de la Luz Foundation

The community eye clinic is part of the Clinic in Missirah, a project that Dentists on Wheels has been developing since 2012 with the support of various partners, including ZEISS Vision Care Spain. Dentists on Wheels is a non-profit organization that provides free dental care and promotes oral health awareness to people in disadvantaged areas. With this project, the organization and its partners are breaking the paradigm that underprivileged communities in Africa do not have access to the latest technology or care from top healthcare professionals.

The clinic employs local staff trained by professionals from the Cione Ruta de la Luz Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving people's vision and hearing. Volunteer optometrists travel from Spain on an ongoing basis, and the clinic has modern equipment for eye examinations and a frame workshop.

The constant presence of volunteers, the modern examination equipment, the frame workshop and the new frames provided by the Cione Ruta de la Luz Foundation, together with the lenses donated by ZEISS, enable the patients to correct their visual impairment and in most cases to take their new glasses home on the same day as their visit to the clinic.

The eye examinations at the community eye clinic in Missirah are carried out by volunteer optometrists.
The eye examinations at the community eye clinic in Missirah are carried out by volunteer optometrists.

Awareness campaigns for a sustainable support

In addition to patient care, the clinic also carries out prevention activities such as awareness campaigns, visual health education and the production of educational materials.

Since 2015, ZEISS Vision Care has been committed to enabling integrated, people-centered eye care in underserved regions and providing quality eye and vision care to underprivileged children and adults in rural areas. Through the Aloka Vision Programme in India and Nepal, ZEISS reaches tens of thousands of patients every month, with a total of over 900,000 people benefiting from this commitment in 2023. Further projects have been set up in Brazil and Uganda. ZEISS always works together with NGOs, eye clinics, customers, and eye care institutions to ensure the quality, impact and sustainability of all social business and engagement.

"Thanks to their services, school screenings, and awareness campaigns, there is a growing social consciousness about the importance of visual health."

Interview

Alicia Franco shares her firsthand experience in Missirah, embodying our company's mission to make eyecare accessible to as many people as possible while contributing to a more sustainable society through added value.

How does the optical sector work in Senegal?

In Senegal, the optical sector and healthcare infrastructure differ significantly from what we are accustomed to in Europe. While there are some optical services available in Dakar, the capital, remote villages located further away lack access to these resources. Additionally, many people in these areas cannot afford the necessary services. As a result, visual healthcare remains largely inaccessible to the average population.

What are some of the challenges faced by the Community Eye Clinic in Senegal, and how are they addressing these issues to improve visual health services?

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Community Eye Clinic; they are very well equipped. Thanks to their services, school screenings, and awareness campaigns, there is a growing social consciousness about the importance of visual health, although progress is slow and deeply rooted in cultural factors.

One significant challenge faced by the eyecare professionals was closing the loop on their services. They needed to get the edger operational so that they could assemble and deliver glasses on the same day. Previously, glasses were only graded and sent to Spain for assembly, which took 2-3 months to return to Senegal. Through teamwork and collaboration, we successfully achieved this goal!

The next big challenge is to recruit more volunteers and upgrade the edger to a more modern model that most opticians are familiar with.

What do you take away from this trip?

Professionally, the experience allowed me to delve deeper into ZEISS's projects and understand the company's extensive reach beyond my daily work. I gained insight into the company's social commitment through firsthand involvement in both this humanitarian optical project and other global cooperation initiatives.

On a personal level, the journey enabled me to travel to a previously unknown country, live in a village (Missirah) with local residents, and immerse myself in their daily life and reality. Engaging in humanitarian cooperation and working in optics under conditions vastly different from those in Europe provided me with new perspectives and knowledge, fostering personal growth.

I embarked on this mission with the intention of giving and helping in any way possible, but I received invaluable lessons in living, community coexistence, and the profound love and generosity of a society with very limited resources.

I encourage all opticians to sign up for next year's program to experience this rewarding opportunity. If not, I would be delighted to participate again.

Thanks for these interesting insights!