American Indian Sight Initiative

Seva's American Indian Sight Initiative focuses on the most common and treatable eye health issues found in American Indian communities. We work with our partners to increase access to eye screenings, eyeglasses, and eye care.

There is a higher rate of astigmatism among American Indian children than other children in the United States. The high prevalence of this type of refractive error is compounded by the critical level of rural poverty within most American Indian reservations. Seva works with Native partners to overcome barriers to basic eye care for rural and low-income communities. Seva and our partners work together to eliminate these barriers by identifying eye care needs, exploring sustainable ways to provide care, and training Native eye care providers so they can work within their own communities.

With Seva's support, our local partners work to increase community outreach, conduct screening for children and the elderly, and provide affordable prescription glasses. Seva supports the training of mid-level eye care professionals in high-need communities, provides necessary equipment to eye care professionals and supports our partners’ needs so they can continue to provide high-quality eye health services with universal access in mind.