Matribhumi Samachar English
Hyderabad, July 9, 2026: The World Health Organization (WHO) has redesignated L V Prasad Eye Institute as a Collaborating Centre for the Prevention of Blindness for a period of 4 years (till 2030). LVPEI first achieved this designation twenty-five years ago, in 2001. LVPEI is one of 11 eye care institutions designated by the WHO Director General to support WHO’s global eye care and blindness prevention programs.
Nearly 2.2 billion live with some form of vision loss in the world. It is estimated that about half that number—nearly 1 billion people—have never received eye care. Most of them live in middle- and low-income countries. Some two-thirds of those who need glasses, don’t have access to them, and only 1 out of 2 people who need cataract surgery receive the procedure. The WHO collaborating centres are a multilateral network of high-quality eye care institutions that support the WHO in addressing these gaps and making integrated, people-centred eye care a reality.
As a WHO Collaborating Centre, LVPEI will support the United Nations (UN) body’s goal of achieving universal health coverage with its technical and operational expertise. LVPEI’s large pyramidal network and expertise in public health epidemiology will help generate evidence for best practices, train an adequate eye health workforce, and develop eye health guidelines.
A key area of expertise will be LVPEI’s experience in taking eye care to rural areas. A key aspect of universal health coverage will be ensuring that eye care is available to those who are underserved.
“This redesignation underscores two decades of collaboration between LVPEI and WHO in taking public health eye care forward,” noted Dr Gullapalli N. Rao, Founder Chair, LVPEI. “It is an honor and a responsibility. The burden of vision loss is highest in our settings—but so are the diversity of solutions. We look forward to making a difference in the coming years,” he said.
“The WHO Collaborating Centre designation includes a detailed work plan and the need for technical inputs into global eye care strategy for the next four years. I am confident that, in partnership with our colleagues in the WHO, we will be able to achieve our targets.” said Dr Rohit Khanna, Network Director–Public Health, LVPEI.
What is a WHO (World Health Organization) Collaborating Centre?
“A collaborating centre is defined as an institution officially designated by the WHO Director-General to support WHO programmes at national, regional, inter-regional and global levels.”
These WHO collaborating centres came about based on the policy adopted at the Second World Health Assembly in 1949 by the League of Nations that WHO would only support, coordinate and use the work of existing institutions around the world and not establish any research institutes of its own.
The collaborating centres reinforce national health capacity by contributing information, services, research and training to support improvements in public health. They help with gathering, analyzing, and sharing data; standardizing terminology, technology, diagnostics and therapeutics; provide reference materials; participate in collaborative research under WHO leadership; provide training; and coordinate work conducted by multiple institutions on specific topics.
These collaborations ensure the scientific credibility of global health initiatives and strengthen WHO’s leadership role in shaping the International Health Agenda.
About LVPEI: Established in 1987, with the vision, ‘to create excellent and equitable eye care systems that reach all those in need,’ the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a comprehensive eye health facility, is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Prevention of Blindness.
In pursuance of this vision, LVPEI clinician scientists work at the cutting edge of eye research. Through its five-tier ‘Eye Health Pyramid’ and cross-subsidy models, LVPEI provides more than 50% of its services entirely at no cost to the patient, irrespective of the complexity of care needed. LVPEI is among the world’s top eye researchers with over 5,000 published scientific papers in prominent international journals.
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