“In this first phase, 2,400 underprivileged children, institutionalized or signposted by social services, aged 6 to 18 years will be covered,” Margarida Barata of the Vision for Life Foundation told Lusa.

Margarida Barata said that consultations are made by ophthalmologists indicated by the SPO group of paediatricians, directed by Rosário Varandas, paediatric ophthalmologist at the Centro Hospitalar de Gaia.

The mobile doctor's office of Ophthalmology, which on 2 December received children from SOS Village of Gulpilhares, in Vila Nova de Gaia, will travel the country, and are scheduled for Wednesday (4 December) consultations at AMI - Porta Amiga de Gaia Centre.

The initiative also aims to make families and teachers aware of the importance of vision for school success.

“The project is born of a very clear objective, which is to work to eliminate bad vision within a generation,” said Margarida Barata, noting that “it is estimated that around 2.5 billion people worldwide see ill and are unaware of the disease, often because they do not have access to specialist consultations to overcome their problems.”

According to the official, this project of the Vison for Life Foundation and SPO “will develop in several phases, extending over 10 years”.

"It is ambitious, but we have a mission to improve life by improving vision and thus also contribute to improving children's learning," she added.