The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, defended today in Ourense that “seeing well cannot be a privilege, it is a right” and encouraged Galician families to benefit from the Plan VEO, the new aid programme promoted by the Government of Spain to guarantee access to visual health for children under 16 years of age, with a direct contribution of up to 100 euros for the purchase of glasses or lenses. He did so during a visit this Thursday to the Diagonal Optics of Ourense, where he assessed the impact of the initiative, accompanied by the subdelegate of the Government in Ourense, Eladio Santos, and the head of the establishment, Viviana Prol.
Pedro Blanco stressed that “health is the basis on which equality, learning and opportunities are built.” In this sense, he affirmed that “a boy or girl can see the waxing of his school well cannot depend on the pocket of his family.”
The delegate stressed that Galicia leads the access to this aid throughout the country, with 4,529 applications already registered, which is the highest rate in Spain adjusted by population, with 129 applications per 10,000 inhabitants. “These are data that show that the measure works, that it reaches who needs it and that it responds to a real demand from families,” he said.
The delegate highlighted the educational impact of the measure, remembering that about 30% of school failure in the country is related to uncorrected vision problems. “Investing in the visual health of our youth means having a vision for the future. It is a policy with which we reduce inequalities, strengthen the Welfare State and improve people’s lives with useful, concrete measures that are noticeable in everyday life,” he said. In this context, he contrasted this model of public policies “of others who choose to cut healthcare or privatize services,” with the Government of Pedro Sánchez that “expands rights, strengthens the public and places the most vulnerable people at the center of political action.”
During the visit, Pedro Blanco thanked the Diagonal Optics of Ourense “for its sensitivity and social commitment to join this program”. He also recalled that there are already more than 530 optics adhered in Galicia, 24 in the city of Ourense, and encouraged that “there are many more” to facilitate the access of families to help. Specifically, 226 establishments in A Coruña, 192 in Pontevedra, 65 in Lugo and 49 in Ourense participate by province.
Finally, he recognized the fundamental role of the professionals involved, both opticians, optometrists and health personnel, whose daily work “sustains quality public health”.
48 million euros of budget
The delegate reported that the VEO Plan is endowed with 48 million euros and is part of the expansion of the portfolio of benefits of the National Health System. It is a system of direct aid, up to 100 euros, intended for children under 16 years of age with vision problems, which can be requested in a simple way in the optics adhered to the ata program on December 31, 2026.
The request for assistance is made only in person at a participating optics establishment. The aid contemplates a maximum of 100 euros per child and year. If the optical product costs less than 100 euros, the VEO Plan charges the total amount. If you exceed that amount, the family pays only the difference.
The products included are the complete mount or only the graduated crystals with anti-reflective treatment and lenses, together with the liquid solution.
Optical healthcare establishments can participate through the web application of the VEO Plan. The holder of the optical health establishment will be the person in charge of loading in the web application the required documentation and of bringing together the information requested, both that related to the establishment and to the optical professionals who provide their services in the said establishment. More information on the website of the Ministry of Health.