Humanitarian
Building capacity in eye health: A story of partnerships and collaborations
In the evolving landscape of global eye health, partnerships and collaborations have been instrumental in driving capacity building and professional development. The impact of strategic alliances like VISION 2020 LINKS and the Diabetic Retinopathy Network (DR-NET) cannot be overstated, as...
Implementing technology to improve global eye health
Technological innovation is providing new solutions to transform global eye health [1–5]. In particular, research towards the development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in ophthalmology has gained pace in recent years. However, there has been little research relating to its...
Development of eyecare services in Dominica: Past, present, and future
Dominica is a small island developing state in the Caribbean with a population of approximately 73,000 people [1] and has a long and proud history of developing eyecare services through international partnerships. This article will give you an outline of...
Help the VISION 2020 LINKS & Networks Programme to save children’s sight and lives
The LINKS & Networks Programme was established at the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH), London School of Health and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), 20 years ago to improve the quality and quantity of eye health services in low- and middle-income...
Beyond 2020: An educational video series from the Amazonian rainforest
It has been estimated that one billion people globally live with visual impairment. Moreover, countries in the developing world are disproportionately affected, with four times more low vision than compared to countries with well-established systems of primary, secondary and tertiary...
Addressing childhood blindness in sub-Saharan Africa
In this article, the authors explore paediatric ophthalmology subspecialist fellowship training in African nations south of the Sahara. Until recently, most African ophthalmologists who wished to pursue a subspecialty ophthalmology training fellowship had to go abroad. There is a huge...
2030 In Sight: Ending avoidable sight loss
Over 2.2 billion people on our planet live with visual impairment or blindness with 1.1 billion unable to access affordable treatment. The 2030 In Sight sector strategy led by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) is an...
Developing eye health services in Malawi: a personal reflection
Dr Chinsisi Namate reflects on her first two years as a consultant ophthalmologist at the eye unit at Zomba Central Hospital, and how she has already successfully expanded eyecare services for southeast Malawi. The Lions Sight First Eye Hospital in...
A personal reflection: working at the International Centre for Eye Health from 2006–2024
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been working part-time at the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) [1] since 2006. Earlier in my career, the responsibilities of work and a growing family made this merely an aspiration, and apart from...
Primary eye health care in low- and middle-income countries
The need for eyecare services in low- and middle-income countries Recent global estimates (2020) suggest that there is more than a three-fold difference in the prevalence of all categories of visual loss (presenting visual acuity <6/12 in the better eye)...
Back-to-back congresses in Africa highlight international collaboration to advance eye health
The ISOO Africa 2023 Congress The first International Society of Ocular Oncology (ISOO) [1] conference to be held in Africa took place in Mombasa, Kenya, from 21-23 August 2023. Participants came from all over Africa, as well as the US,...
CALL TO ACTION: Help the Ridley Eye Foundation ‘reach more of the unreachable’ in the Himalayas
On the 29 November 1949, Harold Ridley carried out the first implant of an intraocular lens (IoL). This was the first major breakthrough in the cure of cataract blindness since Jacques Daviel conducted the first extra-capsular extraction 198 years earlier....
