Founded by eye surgeon and humanitarian Dr V.K. Raju, the Eye Foundation of America has spread its work to 30 developing countries, training medical personnel to serve the needy, and spreading education on preventive eye care. 

World-renowned eye surgeon with a specialization in corneal transplant surgery, and humanitarian Dr Vadrevu K. Raju is diligently and passionately pursuing his mission to rid the world of childhood blindness. His Eye Foundation of America (EFA) has set up eye camps in 30 developing countries, training medical personnel to serve the needy, and spreading education on preventive eye care and healthy lifestyle choices.
For the past four decades, Dr. Raju and his foundation have been working to eliminate avoidable blindness in areas plagued by poverty and poor access to medical care. This is done under the guiding principles of service, teaching, and research. It is accomplished through eye camps and brick-and-mortar hospitals in developing countries, training of medical personnel to serve the needy.
EFA’s reach extends to 30+ developing countries and the USA. The Foundation has served 4 million patients and performed 350,000+ vision-saving surgeries, with over 25,000 surgeries performed on children.
Since its inception in 1979, the EFA has facilitated 600+ physician exchanges and trained 200+ ophthalmologists, equipping these medical practitioners with the tools to join the global fight against blindness.
Dr Raju has helped to build two hospitals in rural India: the Srikiran Eye Institute and the Goutami Eye Institute. Goutami has a wing dedicated exclusively to children.
The EFA has plans to build a service and research eye hospital in India where no child will be denied treatment and children from around the world can come to receive services.

But Dr Raju’s impact goes beyond mere numbers. He understands that true empowerment lies in education. EFA’s programs equip patients with knowledge about eye health and hygiene, enabling them to make informed choices and prevent future complications. This ripple effect extends beyond the individual, as patients become agents of change, sharing their knowledge within their communities.
Dr Raju has also focused on preventing a lifetime of blindness in premature babies. When a baby is prematurely born, its body is not fully developed, the eyes included. ROP or retinopathy of prematurity happens when there is an abnormal development of retinal blood vessels on the retina.  ROP has to be treated during the window of 3 weeks to 3 months.

Dr. Raju was born in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh in India. He earned his medical degree from Andhra University and completed an ophthalmology residency and fellowship at the Royal Eye Group of Hospitals in London. He is board-certified in ophthalmology and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) and the American College of Surgeons. and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).
He has resided in Morgantown, West Virginia since 1976, where he is currently a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at West Virginia University.

In West Virginia, Dr. Raju accepts patients who do not have medical insurance and performs surgical procedures that are not covered, often pro bono. This allows many of these patients to remain functional members of society.

Dr Raju has received many honors and awards, including 26 distinguished awards and 17 gold medals. In his adopted home state of West Virginia, he was awarded the Lions Club International (Morgantown) Jarrett Award. Morgantown Rotary honored him for community service in 2000. The award he is most proud of is the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award from West Virginia University.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has awarded Dr. Raju four times for his teaching and research contributions, including the Outstanding Humanitarian Award in 2002 for $1 million of his own money that went into building hospitals in India, teaching, and providing services to needy patients.
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) awarded Dr. Raju with their prestigious Distinguished Community Service Award in 2007. President Barack Obama conferred on him the 2016 President’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The University of Toledo in Ohio inducted him into the Global Medical Missions Hall of Fame in 20017.

Dr. Raju has authored hundreds of papers and publications and is the co-author of Musings on Medicine, Myth, and History: India’s Legacy, along with his daughter, Leela V. Raju
Dr. Leela Raju, his daughter and fellow ophthalmologist, is the EFA’s Secretary and Coordinator for Education and actively participates in its mission.