British Council for Prevention of Blindness

Who we are

We are a small niche charity focusing on providing grants for research and training to eliminate avoidable blindness in low and lower middle income countries, where the need is greatest.  We have two part-time staff.  

We fund innovative research and training that seeds the development of local resources – skills, knowledge and expertise – to build programmes which save and restore sight in low and lower middle income countries. Our belief is that no-one, anywhere in the world, should lose their sight if this can be prevented.  We focus almost entirely on long-term interventions relevant to the poorest communities. We believe that the most effective use of resources in order to have the greatest impact is through the support of the few, who will transfer their knowledge and skills in blindness prevention through educating healthcare workers and influencing governments who are then in the position to pass on the benefits to the many - the so-called ‘cascade effect’.

We award research grants and fellowships to UK universities and hospitals and we part-fund a one year master's degree course in London for students from low and lower to middle income countries.