22/04/2026
Expansion of Grameen Health Care Services continues with eye care and nursing college
Grameen Health Care Services Limited(GHS) is accelerating its growth under the comprehensive Vision 2030 roadmap, launching women-led Green Vision Centers and converting all hospitals and Vision Centers to solar-powered operations.
Established in 2006 as a non-profit social business guided by the philosophy of Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Health Care Services has worked to make eye care accessible to the poor and marginalized.
To date, GHS has served over 3.29 million patients, of whom 26% received services free of charge. More than 200,000 surgeries have been completed across GHS facilities, with 51% of these surgeries provided fully free or subsidized.
The organization currently operates four eye hospitals in Bogura, Barishal, Thakurgaon, and Satkhira. A fifth eye hospital in Rajshahi is scheduled to open in May 2026, with project implementation progressing successfully.
In addition to the eye care hospitals, there is a chain of 20 Vision Centers across the country, serving disadvantaged and rural populations with quality eye care.
Through its Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing - GCCN, GHS develops a pipeline of qualified nursing professionals to strengthen healthcare capacity within its expanding network.
At a recent board meeting, the board approved the "Vision 2030" roadmap which includes the establishment of eight new women-led Green Vision Centers by December 2026. These centers will be implemented with a dual focus on women's leadership and environmental sustainability, bringing decentralized, accessible eye care closer to underserved communities.
Aligned with Professor Muhammad Yunus's "Three Zero" vision, GHS is working to convert all of its existing hospitals and Vision Centers to solar-powered green energy systems by December 2026. The board emphasized that this green transition is central to GHS's mission to deliver sustainable, resilient health services while reducing the organization's carbon footprint.
The initiative is designed to empower women by placing them in leadership roles within the new Green Vision Centers, uphold climate responsibility through comprehensive solarization of GHS facilities, and decentralize healthcare delivery so that quality eye care reaches disadvantaged and remote communities without requiring long-distance travel.
"Our goal is that people should not have to wander helplessly or travel far for treatment," Professor Muhammad Yunus said at the recent board meeting. "We must work so that even the poorest get access to high-quality healthcare. Emphasizing social business, green energy, and women's leadership, we want to build a system that is not only effective and successful but also fair and sustainable."
Grameen Health Care Services’ activities
The Grameen GC Eye Hospital in Bogura, established in 2007, is one of the largest and busiest eye care centers in northern Bangladesh and has become a preferred destination for medical value travel. Through October 31, 2024, the hospital has treated approximately 1.24 million patients, of whom 319,842 received free treatment through weekly eye camps conducted in remote and underserved areas. The hospital has completed 78,456 eye procedures, including 65,799 cataract surgeries, and on average treats about 400–500 outpatients daily at nominal or no cost, with services being expanded to ultimately provide advanced care to up to 1,000 patients per day. Annually, the hospital performs roughly 10,000–12,000 successful cataract surgeries, many benefiting economically disadvantaged patients.
The Rupatali hospital in Barishal, established in May 2009, has served over 1,013,000 patients through October 31, 2024. Of these, 191,872 patients received free treatment through weekly eye camps in remote areas. Through October 2024, the hospital completed 49,936 eye surgeries, including 40,230 cataract operations, and provided free cataract surgeries to 12,694 poor and helpless patients.
Thakurgaon Grameen Eye Hospital, established in March 2013, has treated over 466,000 patients through October 31, 2024. Of these, 152,603 patients received free treatment through weekly eye camps in rural areas. During this period, the hospital completed 25,479 eye surgeries, including 19,639 cataract operations, and provided free cataract surgery to 3,247 poor and helpless patients.
Satkhira Grameen Eye Hospital, established in 2020, treated 151,340 patients through October 31, 2024. Of these, 72,049 patients received free treatment through weekly eye camps in rural areas. Through October 31, 2024, the hospital completed 6,357 eye surgeries, including 4,952 cataract operations, and provided free cataract surgery to 1,889 poor and helpless patients.
GHS’s fifth eye hospital in Rajshahi is scheduled to open in May 2026; the board noted that the Rajshahi project is progressing successfully and will enhance GHS’s capacity to deliver quality eye care in the region.
Through Vision 2030, GHS reaffirms its commitment to combining social business principles, gender empowerment and environmental sustainability to scale impact across Bangladesh. The women-led Green Vision Centers and the solarization of facilities are expected to strengthen service delivery, reduce operational costs, and ensure resilient, climate-friendly healthcare access for vulnerable populations.
