VOSH International is a volunteer-driven humanitarian organization dedicated to providing vision care to underserved populations around the world. Comprised of licensed optometrists, opticians, healthcare providers, and lay volunteers, VOSH operates through individual chapters that organize clinic trips to over 30 countries, both internationally and domestically, serving hundreds of thousands of patients annually.

VOSH is committed to volunteerism. Members donate their time, expertise, and personal resources, including travel expenses, to deliver essential eye care services. The organization recognizes that vision means more than sight; it represents access to health, income opportunities, and education, particularly for women and children in communities lacking adequate eye care resources.

At this year’s annual meeting on October 12, 2025 in Boston, two awards will be given: the Humanitarian of the Year Award, and the Harry I. Zeltzer Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Humanitarian award honors “an individual who has distinguished him or herself during the year by bringing eye care to underserved populations. The award recognizes a VOSH member who, during the year, has improved visual welfare through leadership, invention, public health, the development of sustainable eye care and the further understanding and correction of refractive error.”

The recipient of the Harry I. Zeltzer Award is “recognized as an exemplary humanitarian by providing a lifetime of service to humanity through improving visual welfare through leadership, dedication, invention, public health, developing sustainable eye care and furthering the understanding and correction of refractive error. (Sadly, the eponymous Dr. Zeltzer passed away in August 2020. To read the tribute to Dr. Zeltzer, please refer here.) … The recipient of this award is recognized as one who meets the highest criteria that exemplifies the spirit of VOSH/International.”

Humanitarian of the Year Award: Dr. Levi Osuagwu

Dr. Levi Uchechukwu Osuagwu, OD, MSc, PhD, FAAO, graduated from Abia University in Nigeria. Since then, through hard work and vision, he has become a brilliant mentor, advocate, educator, and researcher, showing exemplary leadership in optometry and public health across Africa and several other continents. His continuous drive to support the next generation of optometrists in improving their own clinical skills and the lives of others is an example to all.

Through his leadership roles in mobilising African SVOSH chapters and as the Founder of the African Federation of Optometry Students (AFOS), he has successfully motivated young optometrists and optometry students across Africa to engage in service, advocacy, and community-based eye health initiatives. With the African SVOSH chapters, he emphasized building capacity and inspiring students to see beyond volunteering as short-term outreach, but as part of a larger mission to strengthen primary eye care systems in underserved communities. He was instrumental in the establishment of the SVOSH chapters in Mozambique and at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Founding AFOS was a response to the need for a unified student voice in Africa. Under his leadership, AFOS created a platform for collaboration, professional development, and advocacy that connects optometry students across countries. This not only cultivates future leaders but also ensures that humanitarian service is embedded in the identity of the next generation of optometrists.

By positioning students as partners in humanitarian service and research, he demonstrated leadership that extends beyond immediate interventions, fostering sustainability, cross-border collaboration, and a culture of service that continues to shape optometry in Africa today.

He has initiated several collaborative projects with optometry schools across Africa, including those in Kenya (MMUST) and South Africa (UKZN), and has been invited to serve as an external examiner at the same schools. He has supervised many postgraduate students at Western Sydney University, where he serves as a stream for Rural Health and Indigenous MD Projects, supporting critical health initiatives.

By research impact, Dr. Osuagwu ranks second among the top optometry academics in African universities. He has secured multiple research grants and published over 100 articles, 86% of which appear in high-impact journals like Lancet Global Health and BMJ Open. Recent awards and nominations include the 2025 AAO Essilor Award for Outstanding International Contributions to Optometry, Western Rural Health Researcher of the Year (2024) and the AAO International Mentor Award (2024), among several others.

He also serves as Guest Editor for journals like Nutrition and IJERPH and lead initiatives such as the African Translational Research Group (ATReG) and Centre for Eye Care and Public Health Intervention Initiative (CEPHII). These efforts have resulted in 18 articles and “Africa’s Knowledge Bridge” a book that promotes equitable knowledge access aligned with Sustainable Development Goals.

In professional organizations, he was appointed the Director of Research and Advocacy for the African Council of Optometry (2024) and President of the American Academy of Optometry – African Chapter (2023). Committed to community engagement, he initiated local health initiatives in Bathurst, including forming the 1st Community Reference Group and Indigenous Health Forum. Collaborations with the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa in New Zealand have led to impactful research outputs since 2022.

Dr. Osuagwu’s work demonstrates the various qualities that a humanitarian has. A role model for young generations, a leader for fellow optometrists encouraging excellence and collaborative action, a practitioner who keeps the underserved communities a priority, and an academic who builds the evidence to influence change. His career reflects a strong commitment to bridging health disparities, empowering communities, and advancing translational research across continents

The VOSH/International Humanitarian of the Year Award recognizes a volunteer who has made a significant impact on visual welfare within the past year by contributing to leadership, education, innovation, public health initiatives, sustainable eye care development, or advancing the understanding and treatment of refractive error and visual impairment.

Dr. Osuagwu is an excellent role model who is changing African optometry.

Congratulations on a well-deserved award.

Harry I. Zeltzer Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Marcela Frazier

Dr. Marcela Frazier, OD, MPH, FAAO, is a woman who keeps making a difference.

Born in Medellin, Colombia, as a child, she experienced difficulties in school due to her vision. Diagnosed with severe nearsightedness after receiving a proper prescription for eyeglasses, Dr. Frazier’s path to achieving her full potential began. Early in her life, she also realised that providing health care to those in need was something she wanted to do.

She won a scholarship to study molecular biology at the University of Central Florida. After an inspiring talk by an optometrist, she knew her future was in eye care. She went to the UAB School of Optometry, where she completed a Doctor of Optometry degree and a pediatric residency. She also completed a master’s degree in public health in epidemiology at UAB. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.

Inspiring others and supporting children through optometry is something Dr. Frazier excels at. During nearly two decades in Birmingham, UAB Callahan Eye Hospital and Clinics, she has built a successful vision practice and touched the lives of countless children–especially in the local Hispanic community. Her cultural awareness and empathy change patients’ perspectives about vision care.

Dr. Frazier served as the faculty adviser of SVOSH-UAB for many years, inspiring many optometrists to join VOSH/International. She has taken students on numerous humanitarian trips to Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Perú, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and Colombia.

A committed educator, she has collaborated with several Latin American Schools of Optometry with pediatric optometry lectures, including the La Salle School of Optometry in Bogota, Colombia, and the School of Optometry of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua-Managua. Her support for education has also expanded to being a vital simultaneous translator for many VOSH/International meetings allowing Spanish speakers attending the meetings online to benefit from the knowledge shared.

While on the Board of Directors of VOSH/International, she contributed to expanding the network in Latin America. Her leadership and sense of community building also touched the UAB with her role in the Hispanic/Latinx Faculty Association, improving the experiences of Hispanic underserved patients and doctors. She has been an advocate for increasing the representation of underserved communities in optometry.

Dr. Frazier has been an investigator for several National Eye Institute (NEI) studies, including the Amblyopia Treatment Studies with the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG), the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial (COMET), and the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT).

She collaborates extensively with Children’s Vision International, a home for the destitute in Bogota, Colombia.

The Harry Zeltzer Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have dedicated their lives to improving visual welfare. Recipients are recognized for their leadership, contributions to education, innovation, public health work, sustainable eye care development, or advancing the understanding and treatment of refractive error and visual impairment.

Dr. Frazier never lost sight to give back to patients and the profession, helping with kindness and promoting a vision that has improved VOSH/International over the years. We cannot think of a better individual deserving this important award.

Congratulations, Dr. Frazier!

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