About us
A Dodoma foundation for healthy, empowered, resilient communities
Onesha Community Health Foundation is a Tanzanian non-governmental organisation working to make quality healthcare, and above all good vision, reachable for the people who need it most.
Who we are
Built to reach the people care usually misses
Onesha Community Health Foundation was registered on 7 August 2026 (registration no. NGO/R/10044) to serve communities across the United Republic of Tanzania (Mainland), with our primary focus on Dodoma Region.
We started with one of the clearest injustices in health: people losing their sight to conditions that are routinely treatable. Cataract and uncorrected refractive error remain the leading causes of vision impairment worldwide. The solutions are well known, from a short operation to a correctly prescribed pair of spectacles, but for rural and low-income families they are too often too far away, too costly, or simply unknown.
Our flagship Community Vision Restoration & Eye Health Programme brings education, screening, referral, treatment and follow-up together into one pathway, delivered with our strategic clinical partner, Optiview Specialised Eye Clinic in Dodoma.
Vision
“To build healthy, empowered, and resilient communities.”
Mission
“To champion improved quality of life through accessible healthcare, vision restoration, education support, and community empowerment initiatives.”
Core objectives
What we are here to achieve
- 01
Reduce avoidable blindness
Reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment among underserved populations through subsidised and/or free, high-quality eye-care services.
- 02
Improve access to safe cataract surgery
Improve access to safe and effective cataract surgical services for vulnerable and rural communities, ensuring improved visual outcomes.
- 03
Affordable refraction and spectacles
Enhance access to affordable or free refractive services and optical correction, including quality spectacles for those in need.
- 04
Early detection and continuity of care
Strengthen early detection and continuity of care through community outreach, eye-health screening, referral services, and low-vision assessment and rehabilitation.
- 05
Sustainable health systems
Build sustainable health systems through training, mentorship, partnerships, and mobilisation of philanthropic and donor resources.
Our values
How we work
Compassion
We treat every person with dignity, patience and respect, whatever their age, income or circumstance.
Integrity & accountability
We are honest about what we do and what it achieves, and we answer to the communities, partners and authorities we serve.
Community ownership
Communities are partners, not recipients. Local leaders and health workers shape how we reach people.
Quality & safety
Clinical care meets professional standards, and we follow people up to make sure treatment worked.
Partnership
We work with government, clinicians and funders to build eye care that outlasts any single project.
Geographic focus
Tanzania Mainland, with Dodoma Region first
Our area of operation is the United Republic of Tanzania (Mainland). We are concentrating first on Dodoma Region, where our head office and clinical partner are based, so that we can build a model that works well, measure it honestly, and then grow.
Map data: geoBoundaries / OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Our approach
From the village to the operating theatre, and back
An integrated pathway
Education, screening, clinical assessment, referral, treatment, post-operative follow-up and outcome monitoring are one connected journey, not separate events. No one should be screened and then lost.
Clinical partnership
Optiview Specialised Eye Clinic in Dodoma is our strategic technical and clinical partner, so patients receive specialist care while Onesha leads community work, coordination and accountability.
Aligned with government
Our counterpart is the Ministry of Health through the National Eye Care Programme. We aim to strengthen public eye-care services, never to run parallel to them.
Measured and reported
We track people screened, referred, treated and followed up, and the visual outcomes they achieve, and we publish verified results.
Beyond eye health
Our mission also includes education support and community empowerment. As the Foundation grows, new programmes in these areas will be announced here.