Unlike Cambodia, Lao PDR has yet to establish a National
Committee for the Prevention of Blindness. The Director
of the Ophthalmology Centre in Vientiane has been appointed
lead officer for blindness prevention and represents the
interests of the program on the MoH Health Coordinating
Committee.
In 2005, IRIS agreed to fund three eye care development projects in Lao PDR:
NEW EYE CLINIC, XAIGNBOURI PROVINCE
At a cost of $56,000 IRIS constructed the new eye clinic
which was opened in November 2005. Xaignbouri Province is
located to the north-west of Vientiane and its population
of 370,000 is the third largest of all provinces in Lao
PDR.
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New Clinic Xayabury Province |
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Michele handing over key for Xaignabouri Clinic |
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SCHOOL SCREENING PROGRAM, VIENTIANE
Also in 2005, IRIS funded a pilot scheme aimed at raising
awareness of eye care issues amongst secondary school children
and their families in the Vientiane. The concept was to
develop a model of best practice that could then be implemented
in other parts of the country.
Classroom teachers in secondary schools in
Naxaithong district, Vientiane Prefecture, were trained
by staff of the Ophthalmology Centre to teach up to 10,000
pupils how to test and record their own visual acuity and
that of family members. Each student received a writing
book specially designed with guidance notes on how to take
and record the outcomes of visual acuity testing. Having
tested all family members' students provided classroom teachers
with reports on those with poor vision who required further
examination.
Teachers collated this information and compiled a report
to the School Director. Directors of each school detailed
the poor vision cases to the Director of Public Health and
dates were then agreed with each school for people in need
of further examination and surgery to attend the school
and be examined by an eye doctor from the Ophthalmology
Centre.
Project expenses included the production of
10,000 writing books with visual acuity testing charts costing
$0.10 cents each and an allocation of $1,000 to subsidize
the 100 cataract surgeries resulting from the initiative.
MOBILE CATARACT UNIT
In January
2007, IRIS provided additional funds needed to for the Ophthalmology
Centre to convert a second-hand ambulance into a mobile
cataract unit. The vehicle is to be used to perform outreach
cataract surgery in remote, rural areas of the country where
people have no access to local eye care services.
Whilst IRIS has earmarked additional
funds to support further eye care development initiatives
in Laos, we are waiting for detailed proposals from the
Director of Ophthalmology that will build on our previously
supported initiatives.
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