HelpMeSee and HMS Vision Private Limited, in collaboration with Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya (SSDN), announced the successful completion of a four-and-a-half-month simulation-based cataract surgical training operation in Guwahati that provided 51 ophthalmologists with access to surgical skills training closer to where they live and work.

On World Sight Day, HelpMeSee is calling for greater investment in the skilled surgical workforce needed to address one of the world’s most treatable causes of blindness.

It’s estimated that 94 million adults age 50 and older live with vision impairment or blindness caused by untreated cataract, yet more than half of people who need cataract surgery globally do not have access to it. In the World Health Organization African Region, three in four people who need cataract surgery remain untreated.

The HelpMeSee Board of Directors has
appointed Doug May President and Chief Executive Officer. May, previously the
organization’s Chief Operating Officer, assumed the role on September 16, 2026, and will lead its work training Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) — a high-quality procedure that restores sight to people blinded by cataract at a fraction of the cost of the alternatives.

HelpMeSee and HMS Vision Private Limited announced the launch of a cataract surgery simulation-based training initiative in Guwahati, India, in partnership with Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya (SSDN), aimed at building immediate surgical capacity in Northeast India. Training began in April at SSDN’s campus.