Every minute, a child goes blind. 60% of children die within one year of going blind. 50% of childhood blindness is avoidable. 75% of all blindness is avoidable given the right treatment. That means that 45 million people around the world are blind as a result of conditions that could either have been prevented or could be cured. And a total of 314 million suffer from some form of visual impairment.

Since 2003 when Standard Chartered celebrated its 150th anniversary, the Group has raised USD 17 million to fund initiatives for the blind through “Seeing Is Believing”, a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness. Standard Chartered had initially challenged itself to raise enough money to fund 28,000 sight-restoring cataract operations but by year-end the Bank had achieved funds to support 56 000 cataract operations.

A new target was then set to raise USD 6 million, half raised and half matched by the Bank, by World Sight Day 2007. Working with Sightsavers International, this target was achieved a year earlier. 1,021,000 sight restorations were sponsored.

On World Sight Day 2006, the Bank announced Phase III of Seeing Is Believing to raise USD 10 million by World Sight Day 2010. This fundraising target was achieved three years ahead of target. Standard Chartered funds 35 projects across 17 countries that are already making a real difference – distributing Vitamin A, performing cataract operations, preventing river blindness and training medical staff.

On 9th October 2008 on World Sight Day 2008, Standard Chartered launched a new phase of the programme named “Seeing Is Believing : A New Vision”. US$20 million will be invested to educate and empower some of the most deprived urban populations; and provide financially and socially sustainable eye care services and systems to reduce avoidable blindness to at least 20 million people. Standard Chartered will be working with the poorest in our communities to make sure that we are giving eye care to those that need it most. .

Seeing Is Believing is a partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Together with the World Health Organisation, SiB launched ‘Vision 2020 – The Right to Sight’, a global campaign to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020.