Southampton, United Kingdom, 31st July 2013 — Contact lens manufacturer, CooperVision’s, ‘One Bright Vision’ campaign to help transform lives in Tanzania through the gift of vision has by far surpassed its teacher training targets set for the next phase of the campaign. This means that students will be able to access eye health screenings quicker and receive the appropriate referrals where necessary.
A goal of 140 teachers trained as vision screeners across 70 schools was set to be met by the end of July, but incredibly already 309 teachers have been trained from 127 schools from the programme, which is implemented by the Brien Holden Vision Institute.
Through sales of CooperVision’s Biofinity® family of lenses, whereby a donation is contributed per pack sold, CooperVision has now raised enough funds to provide essential eye care screenings for nearly 70,000 children in the Bagamoyo District.
"The feedback from all the teachers involved in the training has been extremely positive," said Clive Miller, Global CEO for Optometry Giving Sight, the global eye care charity that is partnering with CooperVision to raise funds for the campaign. "They can see the value in the training and in being able to identify vision problems with their students and make referrals where needed. Everyone is excited now that the foundations for the programme have been laid and the focus over the next few months will be to ensure that all year 7-12 students in the region are screened".
CooperVision’s goal is to raise sufficient funds to support 100,000 eye health screenings for the comprehensive child (7 – 12 years) in the underserved Bagamoyo District in Tanzania by the end of October 2013.
Heathcliffe Clash, European Communications Manager at CooperVision said: “It is fantastic to see that so many teachers have already received the training needed to carry out these much needed screenings, and the direct impact this is having on the children in the area. At halfway through the campaign, it is rewarding to know that the targets have already been exceeded and we are grateful to our practitioners and patients for their help in making this a reality.”
For more information and to get involved visit www.onebrightvision.com.
About CooperVision
CooperVision, a unit of The Cooper Companies, Inc. [NYSE: COO], is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. Dedicated to continually bringing a fresh perspective to the contact lens experience for practitioners and patients, CooperVision specialises in lenses for astigmatism, presbyopia, and ocular dryness. The company routinely collaborates with eye-care professionals in the research and development of relevant products. CooperVision manufactures a full array of monthly and daily disposable contact lenses featuring advanced materials and optics. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
Contact lenses are medical devices and can only be prescribed and dispensed by a licensed eye care professional.
About The Cooper Companies
The Cooper Companies, Inc. (“Cooper”) is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE Euronext (NYSE:COO). Cooper is dedicated to being A Quality of Life Company™ with a focus on delivering shareholder value. Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to crafting a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical focuses on supplying women’s health clinicians with market leading products and treatment options to improve the delivery of healthcare to women. Headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, Cooper has over 7,500 employees with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.