Optometry Giving Sight is delighted to announce that it will provide funding for a new 5 year project based at the Asmara College of Health Sciences that will contribute to the development of Optometry in Eritrea. The project, which is being implemented by the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), is a result of the Eritrean government’s initiative to meet the VISION 2020 goal of eliminating avoidable blindness caused by refractive errors and vision impairment.
It will do this by training 75 students as optometric technicians and placing them in district hospitals; training 35 degree qualified optometrists; establishing 6-8 vision centres and providing services to more than 48,000 people. In the process it will introduce optometry to Eritrea and ensure that all optical services throughout the country are standardized.
Ving Fai Chan (pictured right) is from Malaysia and is one of two lecturers who have been recruited to teach the Optometry course at the College of Health Sciences in Asmara.‘Lecturing in Asmara has been both an eye-opening and rewarding experience—from planning for the curriculum to conducting the Rapid Assessment of Refractive Error (RARE) study,” he said. “Currently we have 21 committed students who have just completed their first academic year and they are looking forward to being the first batch of graduates who will render services to the nation.”
Mr Chan said that a great spirit of cooperation exists between all the parties involved in the project and they now have some good baseline information about the resources required to provide effective refractive error services for the country.
“From all the hard work, I have learnt that to achieve our goals, we have to get our hands dirty, talk less and listen more,” he said.
When asked if he thought that the backlog of preventable blindness in Eritrea could be eliminated by the year 2020 he responded: “Yes! It is eminently achievable!”’
Henok's Story
Henok Kiflemariam (pictured left) is one of the students currently enrolled in the Optometry Technician course. He is ambitious and looks forward to serving his community.As a data collector in June 2010 for the Eritrea Rapid Assessment of Refractive Errors, Henok was exposed to the desperate need for accessible, affordable eye care in his country. “The future of the eye care provision in Eritrea is going to be improved because the National Blindness Prevention Program,” he said.
Upon successful completion of the course, Henok looks forward to furthering his studies and becoming a qualified optometrist.
“Being enrolled in this course has meant that I am proud,” he said.
Top Photo: Optometry students working in the lab, courtesy of ICEE
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