Humanitarian
From paper to pocket: Standardising eyecare with the Malawi Eye Care App
Malawi’s population is mostly rural; the government and Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) together deliver about 80% of healthcare services through local district and community health facilities [1]. However, ophthalmology specialist services are only concentrated in the central hospitals....
The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness: How ICEH maintains the cornerstone of global eye health data
In this paper we will discuss The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB), a survey methodology that has become the single largest source of population eye health data globally. The origins of RAAB The RAAB is a rapid, population-based survey...
Eyecare challenges in the Middle East: Priorities of a global ophthalmology task force
Global ophthalmology is a rapidly evolving, multidisciplinary field that integrates clinical practice, research, and policy at national and international levels. One of its main objectives is to improve eyecare equity worldwide by preventing avoidable vision impairment. Since the launch of...
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...
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...
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,...
The International Centre for Eye Health: weaving the global threads together
The VISION 2020 LINKS & Networks Programme has been writing regular articles in Eye News about its capacity-strengthening activities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for more than a decade. This, the first International Issue, is a landmark for Eye...
CALL TO ACTION: Ophthalmology on Myanmar / Thailand border: do you have any redundant kit?
In 1990, the late Doctor Frank Green, a consultant ophthalmologist in Aberdeen, along with Doctor Phillip Ambler, a GP with ophthalmic training, responded to an invitation to provide ophthalmic care for Karen refugees on the northern and eastern Myanmar borders....
Enhancing glaucoma awareness and management in Nigeria – from grass roots to national policy development
This is the second in a series (see Part 1 here) of three articles about strengthening eye health services in Nigeria through collaboration with the LINKS and Networks run at the International Centre for Eye Health, LSHTM. This article highlights...
Establishing an intra-arterial chemotherapy service for children with retinoblastoma in Nigeria for the first time
This is the first in a series of three articles (see Part 2 here) about strengthening eye health services in Nigeria through collaboration with the LINKS and Networks run at the International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene...
