Search

Building research capacity through the VISION 2020 LINKS Programme

The aim is to build capacity for research in the region covered by the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA). The project will build research capacity in three ophthalmology training institutions by ‘training the trainers’ and...

Diabetic retinopathy screening in Belize: a country’s journey towards reducing blindness from DR

The rise of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications is a public health concern in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) Programme, managed by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by the Queen Elizabeth...

COVID-19 and Ophthalmology: RCOphth, ICEH and COECSA joint webinar

The Royal College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (the Royal College) have had a successful VISION 2020 LINK partnership for over 12 years. The partnership was established by the VISION...

Ground-breaking achievements in blindness prevention

One small UK based charity is enabling pioneering research to prevent blindness in low and lower middle income countries. The British Council for Prevention of Blindness (BCPB), established in 1976, funds innovative research and training which seeds the development of...

Commonwealth nations join forces to prevent blindness from diabetes

More than 70 representatives from 10 Commonwealth countries (in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions) and Indonesia gathered at a five-day workshop in November 2014 to establish district or national plans to reduce blindness from diabetic retinopathy (DR). The event...

The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme in Tanzania - The VISION 2020 LINK between Dodoma and Belfast

Rahila Bashir, Senior Remote Ophthalmic Research Image Grader, talks to Frank Sandi, Ophthalmologist at the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH), University of Dodoma in Tanzania and to Tunde Peto at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust...

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...

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...

The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020

Introduction The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health was published in 2021 [1]. Drawing on expertise from within and outside the eye health sector, the Commission set out to: inform governments and other stakeholders about the path forward...

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...

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...