The Reach Campaign, an awareness and fundraising initiative which aims to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), partnered with Rivoli Group as part of its ‘50 Days to Transform 5 Million Lives’ campaign on October 14, 2021 - World Sight Day.
Continuing the commitment of the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to disease elimination, Reach aims to help end two devastating NTDs, river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.
Under the partnership theme of ‘It’s Time to See the End of River Blindness’, the two organizations installed an eye-catching sand time clock at The Galleria Al Maryah Island, with a count-down to the 50 days of the campaign and engage the public to contribute to the cause.
As the campaign’s first marketing partner, both divisions of the Rivoli Group – Watches & Vision Care are raising funds through special initiatives across their stores, which includes matching the AED 2/- contribution on every purchase made by a customer. Additionally, Rivoli Vision concept stores are donating a portion of proceeds from the sale of selected Reach themed eyewear products as well as aim to generate customer donation through vision screening pop-ups.
Tala Al Ramahi, Acting Managing Director of the Reach Campaign, said: “We are proud to partner with Rivoli Group on our efforts to end NTDs. This partnership will allow us to bring the Reach Campaign directly to consumers across several of Rivoli Group’s stores throughout the UAE. As our official marketing partner, Rivoli Group is activating on multiple levels, offering customers various touchpoints to participate in the campaign. Such multi-faceted collaborations are essential to the success of our campaign, as it is only through unified efforts that we will be able to accelerate progress towards elimination.
“River blindness and lymphatic filariasis have a devastating impact on impoverished communities around the world. The Reach Campaign aims to mobilise our partners to provide pathways for the public to contribute to efforts to end NTDs. We thank the Rivoli Group for joining us today to officially kick off the ’50 Days to Transform 5 Million Lives’ campaign and look forward to working together over the next 50 days to achieve our ambitious goals.”
Ramesh Prabhakar, Vice Chairman and Managing Partner of the Rivoli Group, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with the Reach Campaign for a cause that is in line with our mission - to achieve the goal of providing high quality vision care to the maximum number of people whose lives we can transform through our contribution. Rivoli Group has always believed in using its resources and skills to give back to society and has been at the forefront of such initiatives. Having said that, this particular initiative is directly connected to our vision care business and we are privileged to work with Reach to align with their goal and look forward to making a measurable impact through our partnership and commitment to eradicating river blindness.”
Proceeds from Reach go towards the Reaching the Last Mile Fund (RLMF), which offers a proof of concept for the elimination of the two diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hosted by the END Fund, RLMF is a 10-year, $100 million USD initiative launched in 2017 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, with support from several leading global philanthropic organisations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The ELMA Philanthropies.
Just AED 2 can provide the medicine and treatment to protect one person from river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, and several other co-endemic diseases for the entire year.
