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The invisible touch: a VISION 2020 LINK with Indonesia

Indonesia’s population, the world’s fourth largest, is spread across 6,000 inhabited islands. Whilst some areas (e.g. Kalimantan, Papua) are relatively sparsely populated, Java is the world’s most densely populated island, with twice the population of the UK in half the...

Development of retinoblastoma care in Indonesia and the role of multidisciplinary team meetings

In the second article of a two-part series (See Part 1 here), the authors focus on the diagnosis and management of retinoblastoma in Indonesia. COVID-19 doesn’t get thanked for many things, but on 19 December 2020 as the world grew...

Reflections on a twelve-year partnership: The Makassar-Dundee LINK

In the first article of a two-part series (see Part 2 here), the authors provide an overview of this hugely successful partnership and how they overcame the challenges of COVID-19. What began in 2008 as a connection between equals, has...

The Makassar-Dundee VISION 2020 LINK: a tale of two cities and two trainees

A resident’s view from Makassar My name is Hendra Kusuma, a final year resident (registrar) in the ophthalmology department at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, Indonesia. We have had a VISION 2020 LINK with Dundee (coordinated at the UK end by...

The art of giving generous grains

On the drive home, after a long day of eye screening patients in homeless shelters, I would pass through the boroughs, towns and villages of east London. Stopping at the soup kitchen, I would meet Christian with heavy cataracts, and...

VISION 2020 LINKS Programme: Reviewing the first ten years and announcing the new diabetic retinopathy initiative

The VISION 2020 LINKS Programme celebrates its 10th anniversary next month. Over the past decade it has achieved its objective of building capacity for eye care in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by establishing long-term training partnerships between institutions, known...

In conversation with Andy Pyott

Discussing a detour into ophthalmology from zoology in 1988, experiences in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe and the National Treatment Centre – Highland, Baljean Dhillon interviews his newest guest on the Eye Views podcast, Andy Pyott. Take us back to...

DR-NET Workshop – information-sharing for strengthening DR programmes

Contributors: Rosie Brennan, Anshul Chauhan, Mona Duggal, John Ellis, Michael Gichangi, Edwin Grayson, Catherine Jamieson, Ankita Kankaria, Oliver Kemp, Hendra Kusuma, Nanda Matthew, Geeta Menon, Habibah Muhiddin, Tunde Peto, Recivall Salongcay, Frank Sandi, Hazel Shillingford-Ricketts, Bernadetha Shilio, Caroline Styles, Sharon...

Capacity-strengthening for diabetic retinopathy services in low- and middle-income countries

Introduction DR-NET eye health professionals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have, since 2015, been able to access training in diabetic retinopathy (DR) grading provided by Gloucestershire Retinal Education Group (GREG). GREG, led by Professor Peter Scanlon and based at...

Rb-NET: a network to save life and preserve vision in children in Africa

Responding to need is a key element underpinning the VISION 2020 LINKS Programme [1]. It is embedded in the process through which LINKS are established, with institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) first defining their priority areas of training...

Retinoblastoma – the challenges of a rare cancer and the role of international partnerships

Introduction: the global challenge The global burden of retinoblastoma (Rb) is one in 15,000-18,000 live births, which equates to 8000 new cases worldwide each year. The global disparities in Rb outcome represent a paradigm of health inequality worldwide [1]. In...

The role of virtual Rb-NET Multidisciplinary Team meetings in the management of children with retinoblastoma in low- and middle-income countries

A selection of participants in an MDT meeting with Uganda. In 2017 the LINKS Programme developed a new network of LINKS to support and coordinate action against retinoblastoma (Rb) in response to requests from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), called...