Rwanda teams with NGO for universal eyecare

The collaboration has lead to the training of more than 3,000 eyecare workers from 502 health centres, who have travelled to more than 15,000 villages to prescribe spectacles and refer serious eye probls to national clinics.“Rwanda is leading the way in Africa by providing all of the people with affordable eyecare. This has been made possible by the great collaboration between the Government of Rwanda and Vision for a Nation. The impact of this initiative has been enormous,” Health Minister Ms Diane Gashumba told The Guardian.{{quote-A:R-W:450-Q: The collaboration has lead to the training of more than 3,000 eyecare workers from 502 health centres, who have travelled to more than 15,000 villages }}According to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 34% of the tiny central African nation’s population is in need of some type of eyecare, with myopia the most common condition. More than 80% of eye probls in the country are believed to be preventable.This probl is exacerbated by the poverty in the country, which ranks 159th on the Human Development Index and where less than 20% of the population has access to electricity.VFAN consultant Dr Grae Mackenzie pointed out that without treatment, eye sight issues, particularly in women, can trap families in a cycle of poverty.“Coffee bean sorting is quite a business in Rwanda. It is usually fales ployed in this industry, and their livelihood depends on their ability to sort beans. Around the age of 45, they lose their ability to see well. Their quality of work suffers and therefore their income suffers,” Mackenzie explained.“Now, the breadwinner is no longer earning enough. The young girls in the family are pulled out of school so they can work in agriculture to help. They do not finish their education and the whole cycle of poverty is just reinforced.”VFAN CEO Mr Tony Hulton said in order to achieve sustainable development goals eyecare needs to be given preferential attention.VFAN’s next focus will be Ghana.