LONDON—The UBS Optimus Foundation has awarded U.K. charity Vision for a Nation, a $1.7 million grant for its groundbreaking national eyecare program in Rwanda. The funds will be used to train 1,000 of Rwanda’s nurses to provide eye screenings and affordable glasses at health centers and villages throughout the country.

The grant will enable over one million Rwandans, including 250,000 children, to receive eye screenings in 2016 and 2017. A total of 470,000 Rwandans will receive eye drops; 200,000 will be referred to hospital-based eyecare specialists; and 120,000 will receive affordable glasses. Vision for a Nation is also embedding the training course into Rwanda’s eight nursing schools, reaching a further 800 nursing students over two years, as part of the full integration of primary eyecare services into the national health system.

In addition, the UBS Optimus Foundation funding will support a major research study on how nationwide eye screening and affordable glasses impact people’s lives. Vision for a Nation also plans to scale up its innovative eyecare model in partnership with other national governments and the funding will be used to conduct feasibility studies in two countries in Africa and Asia.

“The UBS Optimus Foundation grant is a landmark endorsement of our work,” said Tom Rosewall, Vision for a Nation’s CEO. “The funding will enable us to reach our ambitious targets in Rwanda and to fully integrate primary eyecare into the country’s national health system by 2017. It will also allow us to evaluate the impact of our program and to start the process of scaling up our model to other emerging nations that wish to promote the wellbeing of their people and development by providing local access to eyecare.”

Phyllis Costanza, CEO for UBS Optimus Foundation, noted, “It is our responsibility to direct our donors' funds wisely, so we only fund projects—like Vision for a Nation's eyecare program in Rwanda—that guarantee a return; a measurable improvement in the lives of children, and that are sustainable and scalable over the longer term.”