Vision 2020 Technology for Eye Care Services in Developing Countries

There are 37 million blind people in the world (WHO 2002), 90% of whom live in developing countries. 75% of blindness is avoidable and half of avoidable blindness is due to cataract, for which the only intervention is surgical. This fact alone indicates the importance of ophthalmic technology in the fight against unnecessary blindness. In 1999 Vision 2020: The Right to Sight was launched by the WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness with the aim of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020. The Vision 2020 Technology Working Group has been set up to encourage the development and promote the use of high quality but affordable equipment and consumables for eye care. The Group includes representatives of the NGOs supporting eye care in developing countries, manufacturers committed to making high quality but affordable items, and ophthalmic personnel the end users. Achievements to date include: (1) Bulk purchasing of consumables such as intra-ocular lenses to reduce costs. (2) A purchasing and distribution centre in Hong Kong for high quality low vision devices. (3) Development of equipment maintenance training. This was originally pioneered in Inda and has been successfully transferred to Africa & the Caribbean (4) Global Standard List of Equipment for a Vision 2020 District Eye Care Service Unit. By working together the Technology Group members aim to improve the access to information about and the availability of robust, affordable, high quality ophthalmic supplies essential for the achievement of the objectives of Vision 2020.