The government allocates an additional 23 million to the second phase of the VEO Plan, which has already benefited nearly 500,000 minors. The aid of up to 100 euros per child per year for glasses or contact lenses remains available until December 31, 2026.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, presented this Monday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health the second phase of the VEO Plan, endowed with more than 23 million euros additional. With this expansion, the total investment of the programme rises to 73 million euros, as reported by La Moncloa.
The aid remains at up to 100 euros per minor per year for the purchase of glasses or contact lenses, and will be available until December 31, 2026. The objective, Sánchez explained, is that "no child in our country should grow up without seeing well because their family cannot afford to correct their vision problem."
The plan aims to address the visual poverty affecting more than 700,000 children and adolescents in Spain. According to the data provided by Sánchez, one in three minors with poor academic results may have an undiagnosed visual problem that hinders their learning.
"Nearly 500,000 children and adolescents have already benefited from this aid"
The president highlighted that the results of the first year "have exceeded our expectations" and thanked the support of the College of Opticians and Optometrists, as well as the participation of nearly 8,000 establishments (about 75% of the total) and the involvement of more than 13,600 professionals nationwide.
During his speech, Sánchez framed this initiative within the reinforcement of the welfare state. He recalled that since 2018, the government has increased investment in social benefits by 145 billion euros and mentioned other measures such as new neonatal screenings, the extension of ages in early cancer detection programmes, and the recovery of universal healthcare.
"We will not allow that system to weaken"
The Minister of Health, Mónica García, insisted that the premise of the plan is that "no child in our country should see worse because of their family's financial situation." In her opinion, "the plan has reached the entire country" and "the response has exceeded all our expectations."
Families needing to apply for the aid can do so at the nearly 8,000 optical establishments participating in the programme, where the discount of up to 100 euros per minor is applied. The application period remains open until December 31, 2026.
You may also like
