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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)...

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...

Paediatric ophthalmology training in Africa through the Juba-Bournemouth VISION 2020 LINK

One of the aims of the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) is to provide specialist ophthalmic training for practising ophthalmologists from its 11 member countries. A number of initiatives are enabling more ophthalmologists to undertake...

Situation analysis of diabetic retinopathy services in eleven countries

A five-year project funded by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is facilitating development of diabetic retinopathy services (DRS) to reduce unnecessary blindness in 10 Commonwealth countries through the establishment of a capacity-building network, the DR-NET part of the Commonwealth...

Development of retinoblastoma services in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe recognised the need for a paediatric ophthalmology service almost 20 years ago. The economic uncertainty in the country made it difficult to secure financial support, so initial funding came through local donors. Equipment – including vision charts, ophthalmoscopes and...

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...

6.6.2020 – a celebration of international partnerships

The date 6.6.2020 was selected as a significant milestone for celebrating the achievements of the VISION LINKS Programme as part of the global ‘VISION 2020: The Right to Sight’ initiative [1]. This virtual full-day seminar included LINK partners in the...

Building leaders for eye care in Africa: the COECSA-RCOphth VISION 2020 LINK

The VISION 2020 LINK [1] between the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) has been building leaders of eye care in Africa since 2008, when a Memorandum of Understanding...

The Global Vision Database

The overall goal of the Global Vision Database (GVD) [1] is to develop and deploy new and improved evidence on the prevalence of blindness and vision impairment (VI) globally. It is a repository which allows us to assess the causes...

IN FOCUS - VISION 2020 LINKS Programme: the contribution of health partnerships to reduction in blindness worldwide

As other articles in this series (IN FOCUS Apr 2020) demonstrate, the year 2020 is highly significant in the eye care field. Naming a global initiative ‘VISION 2020: The Right to Sight’ in 1999 was a daring way to focus...

Part 1: The Arclight Project – Frugal tech for sight

The Arclight Project is a mix of frugal design, manufacturing, distribution, teaching, research, and advocacy, all wrapped up in a social enterprise based at the University of St Andrews. The project is driven by the high burden of needless blindness...