The eye care center came to materialize as part of the public-private partnership between the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia and OIA. During the inauguration of the center, Indian ambassador to EthiopiaSanjay Verma and Kesetebirhan Admasu (M.D.), Minister for the Ministry of Health, were in attendance. During the inauguration of the center, president Mulatu stated, “this is a symbol of an old standing Ethio-Indian relationship.”

Being a 15-bed dedicated ultra modern ophthalmology facility based in the compound of Zewditu Memorial Hospital, the center will offer relief to patients suffering from conditions such as cataract, glaucoma, diabetes and related eye problems and plastic surgery procedures around the eyes.

The facility also has an in-house training center for surgeons, paramedics and administrative staff to build local human resources.

The minister of health Kesetebirhan Admassu (M.D.) said during the inauguration ceremony that the center should provide care for poor people at subsidized rates. He also said that the center will be used to train doctors and other professionals.

Surash Chaturredi, Chairman of OIA group, on his part said that “the center offers holistic and quality health services and will develop local human resources capacity through training in health care by following a service model which is innovative and self sustainable.”

The project took five years from its inception to finish while the construction of the eye facility alone took some two and a half years to complete, said Suresh Chaturredi. The center costs some 2.5 million dollar in totality.