During our mission to Chennai, we had the honor of meeting with Dr. Srinivas Aravind, the Chief Medical Officer of Aravind Eye Care, and Dr. K. Tiruvengada Krishnan, the Chief of Cornea & Refractive Surgery Services. They warmly welcomed us to their facility, where we toured the hospital, explored their advanced diagnostic equipment, and gained insights into their philosophies of efficient, patient-centered care. Since its founding, Aravind has handled tens of millions of outpatient visits and performed millions of surgeries, establishing itself as the largest eye care provider in the world. Their model has become a beacon for other countries aiming to provide accessible and affordable healthcare.

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Dr. Aravind and Dr. Tiruvengada generously shared the guiding principles of the Aravind Model, which focuses on delivering high-volume, high-quality care at an affordable cost, even to underserved populations in developing nations. We learned how they manage to offer care to nearly half of their patients either free of charge or at a significantly reduced cost, while still maintaining financial sustainability. A key factor in this achievement is their unwavering commitment to equity—ensuring that every patient, regardless of financial background, receives the same high standard of care.

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Our visit to Aravind Eye Care offered us invaluable insights into how innovative strategies, like their unique assembly-line approach, can enhance productivity and enable large-scale care delivery without compromising quality. Inspired by their approach, we are eager to explore how these principles might guide our efforts to expand access to essential medical services in underserved communities, ensuring that quality healthcare reaches those who need it most.​​

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We thank Dr. Aravind and Dr. Tiruvengada for taking the time to explain the Aravind Model's emphasis on high volume, high quality, affordable cost eye care to the people of developing nations.