Bringing Sight to Underserved Communities: Alcon’s Support for Medical Missions

In many parts of the world, access to eye care is limited. Not due to a lack of need, but because there are simply not enough Eye Care Professionals to meet demand. For patients in these regions, medical missions serve as a critical lifeline, providing life-changing surgeries and vision care to those who might otherwise wait years for treatment. 

In 2024, Alcon Cares supported missions that served 136,000 patients overall and provided 31,000 sight-saving or sight-restoring surgeries. These missions take place in low- and middle-income countries, where access to Eye Care Professionals is extremely limited.

A Mission to Provide Sight 

Alcon Cares’ Medical Missions program is built on a commitment to increasing access to eye care while strengthening local eye health systems. Alcon Cares provides in-kind donations of surgical products, ensuring that volunteer medical teams can perform high-quality cataract surgeries, and other essential eye procedures.

Each mission is sponsored by a U.S. based nonprofit organization, which coordinates with local Ministries of Health and ophthalmic associations to ensure that missions align with local healthcare priorities. These partnerships ensure missions are sustainable, culturally sensitive, and integrated into existing healthcare systems rather than creating dependency on visiting teams.

Beyond Surgery: Knowledge Transfer & Training 

While the immediate impact of medical missions is measured in sight-restoring procedures, Alcon Cares prioritizes skills transfer and training to build local capacity. Most missions include a skills transfer component, where visiting eye care teams train local doctors, nurses, and technicians on surgical techniques and equipment maintenance. 

This knowledge-sharing ensures the impact of a single mission extends far beyond its duration, empowering local providers to continue delivering high-quality eye care long after the visiting team has departed.

A Global Effort, Serving Thousands Worldwide 

Each year, Alcon Cares’ support enables volunteer Eye Care Professionals and charitable organizations to perform tens of thousands of surgeries, restoring vision for people who have often lived with preventable blindness for years. From children in rural villages who cannot attend school or struggle in school due to their vision, to elderly patients who have lost their independence due to cataracts, these missions change lives in profound ways. 

These long-term relationships with mission partners and volunteer surgeons ensure that Alcon Cares’ support remains patient-focused, impactful, and sustainable.

As medical missions continue to provide critical care in underserved communities, Alcon Cares remains dedicated to supporting sustainable solutions that enhance local eye care capacity and long-term patient outcomes.

At Alcon, we remain steadfast in our commitment to expanding access to eye care and helping people See Brilliantly.