Optometry Giving Sight

When the East Timor Eye Program was founded, no eye care was available anywhere in the country. Optometry Giving Sight funds the optometric input into the East Timor Eye Program through the support of ProVision Optometry Teams who provide primary eye care services and training for local staff. The ProVision Optometry Teams work in conjunction with ophthalmology teams to provide all aspects of vision care.

Project Objectives:

To build a comprehensive and sustainable eye care system in East Timor through the provision of eye care, eye care education and local capacity building.

The training and mentoring of local eye care professionals and affordable supplies of spectacles are paramount in providing a long term solution for the people of East Timor.

Project Outcomes to December 2011*:

People mentored:    36 eye care nurses and other mid level eye care professionals
People screened:     9,225
Glasses dispensed:  5,083
Referrals made:       2,102

The Future of the East Timor Eye program:

The program will continue to focus on regional areas of East Timor, where visits to Baucau, Oecussi, Suai, Maubisse and Maliana have already taken place. ProVision Optometry Teams will continue to work alongside the 11 East Timorese eye care nurses, who are gaining skills and confidence and taking leading roles in the future development of eye care in East Timor - which will help to give sight to thousands more people.

Project Partners:

This project is implemented in conjunction with: ProVision Optometrists Network, The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, AusAID and the Timor Leste Ministry of Health.

* Figures courtesy of ProVision