Activities

The organization “Centro de Aperfeiçoamento Visual Ver a Esperança Nascer” (Caviver) is located in Fortaleza, Ceará. It promotes the visual health of socially vulnerable children with physical conditions that may result in blindness. Caviver provides treatment for children and families referred by municipal health units across Ceará and neighboring states.

History

Caviver was founded in 2006, driven by the World Health Organization's Vision 2020 Program, which aimed to eliminate preventable and treatable blindness by 2020, and as an offshoot of Ceará's Early Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity Program in 2004. Caviver was founded and is chaired by Dr. Islane Verçosa, a leading expert in children's ophthalmology. She is an ophthalmologist with a master's degree in child and adolescent health from the State University of Ceará and former president of the Brazilian Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology and the Ceará Ophthalmology Society.

Impact

The World Health Organization recognizes cataract surgery as one of the most cost-effective health interventions. This procedure restores vision almost immediately and prevents childhood blindness, providing lasting benefits for babies and children born with or who have developed congenital cataracts. In addition, due to society's accessibility barriers, which often require one person to dedicate themselves entirely to caring for visually impaired individuals, the positive impacts of the surgery spill over to the entire family.

Transparency

Since 2022, the organization has regularly published activity reports and financial statements. Its communication channels are active and up-to-date, and it periodically shares activities and strategic information with its donors.

The intervention selected by doebem

Congenital cataract surgery, part of Caviver's Prevention of Childhood Blindness Program, involves removing the opacified lens with or without implanting an intraocular lens. The surgery costs US$ 680 per eye, including materials and a support team of volunteer doctors. Following the organization's post-operative care, vision rehabilitation, and psychosocial support, the immediate improvement in visual acuity translates into long-term gains that will accompany these children throughout their lives, generating greater autonomy, social inclusion, and economic insertion for the child and their family.

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