Dr Digvijay Singh, Director, Noble Eye Care,
Gurugram was a special invitee to the House of Lords (UK Parliament) where he
participated in the commemoration of the International Day for a World Without
Childhood Blindness. The event which was held on the 31st of January 2026, was attended by various global leaders,
parliamentarians, healthcare pioneers, philanthropists, and civil society
representatives. The event was chaired by Lord Rami Ranger, Member of the House
of Lords, and brought together a distinguished gathering of global voices
committed to advancing child eye health as a public health and development
priority. In attendance were president and board members of the Eye Foundation
of America (Dr VK Raju, Dr Leela V Raju), The UN Chief of China (Mr Siddharth
Chatterjee), The Indian Deputy High Commissioner to UK (Mr Kartik Aryan),
Kenyan Ambassador, pharmaceutical industry leaders and leaders of philanthropic
bodies such as Lions and Rotary International.
Addressing the gathering, Lord Rami Ranger
underscored the moral and policy significance of the mission. “The House of
Lords stands today not only for tradition and governance, but for conscience
and global responsibility. A world without childhood blindness is not an
aspiration—it is an achievable goal if governments, philanthropy, and civil
society act together.”
The event ended with Lord Rami Ranger and Dr
VK Raju honoring the invited dignitaries and a media interaction with
networking over high tea.
Dr Digvijay Singh emphasized that “Childhood
blindness affects approximately 1.4 million children worldwide, with nearly 75%
residing in Africa and Asia. India alone has an estimated 320,000 blind
children. The common causes for childhood blindness include vitamin A
deficiency, corneal scarring, congenital cataracts, and retinopathy of
prematurity, most of which are preventable or manageable with cost effective
interventions.” He goes on to state that limited access, poor awareness and
relative low level of importance to pediatric eye care comes in the way of
every child being able to see. “This has to change and we can make the change”
he affirms. As a pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr Digvijay Singh realizes the
impact of saving every child from blindness, “The number of disability free
life years that a timely intervention can give a child far exceeds what we can
do by treating many adults” he said.
Dr Digvijay Singh receiving Honor from Lord
Rami Ranger at the UK Parliament in the presence of Dr VK Raju, Founder
president of Eye Foundation of America.