There are more than 1.6 million people living in the Hill Country districts of Kegalle, Badulla and Ampara yet until recently most had little or no access to vision care services. This program aims to establish sustainable eye care services for those in need.
Latest update...
Optometry Giving Sight is pleased to report that Optometric Technicians employed at the 4 recently opened Vision Centers in the Hill Country of Sri Lanka have performed 6,077 full eye examinations in the period May 2009 – February 2010; with 3,773 pairs of customized glasses dispensed and 1,105 people referred for further treatment.
“This is a wonderful outcome for the local people who have been trained to provide these services, and for the majority of the local population who have not previously had access to affordable vision care services,” said Clive Miller, Chief Executive Officer for Optometry Giving Sight. “We would like to thank our donors and sponsors for helping to fund these projects and for transforming the lives of so many people in need.”
Mr Miller said that more than 3 million people live in the 2 districts being served by the Vision Centers, and that as many as 90% live in rural areas. An estimated 20% live below the poverty line. The Vision Centres provide a much needed boost to the existing services that are provided through government hospitals in mainly urban centers.
Mihiranga is just 9 years old. For more than 3 years, he has been having trouble with his distance vision and suffering headaches. He struggled in class because he could not always see what was written on the chalkboard.
Then just over 12 months ago, he received an eye exam from a newly trained vision technician in Sri Lanka, who discovered he was myopic and that his glasses were the wrong prescription. Now he no longer has headaches and his studies have improved. He was also able to have his glasses replaced when they broke playing with his friends.
Mihiranga is just one of 6,000 people in Sri Lanka’s hill country to have benefited from vision care services now being provided by 4 recently graduated optometric technicians. Almost 4,000 have received customized glasses from new local vision centers and 1,100 have been referred for further treatment.
Project Objectives:
To establish local vision centres and optical workshops to ensure that affordable spectacles are available to those who need them.
To train local eye care personnel who will staff the vision centres and provide ongoing eye care services.
Project Outcomes in 2008*:
The program began in 2005 addressing an immediate need for eye exams and glasses and screening over 33,000 people. Focus has now shifted to the sustainability of vision care services.
• 4 vision technicians completed training
• 3 vision technicians accepted onto a 4 year optometry degree program
• 4 vision centres developed (and opened March 2009)
Training is taking place at the LV Prasad Eye Institute and the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, India.
The Future of the Giving Sight in Sri Lanka Program:
The recently qualified vision technicians have returned to Sri Lanka to staff the new vision centres where they will receive further training and education, such as making spectacles and running a vision centre.
The program will continue to work closely with the local government to help develop optometry as a profession to ensure that there are sufficient qualified eye care professionals to meet the needs of the millions of people in Sri Lanka without access to vision care.
Project Partners:
This project is implemented by the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition; Sri Lankan College of Ophthalmologists; Sightsavers International; CBM; IRIS; and LV Prasad Eye Institute.
* Figures courtesy of ICEE
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