About the program

The Foundation's work in Bangladesh focuses on providing:

• Training to ophthalmologists, eye care nurses and administration personnel
• Equipment for outpatient clinics and operating theatres
• Better access to affordable eye health services by developing referral systems and establishing a supply system for consumables for cataract surgery
• Support to reduce the burden of eye disease; to address the surgical backlog and provide opportunities for medical staff to carry out high-volume, high quality eye surgery.

Australia-Bangladesh Blindness Prevention Program

The Foundation supported The Bangladesh Blindness Prevention Program by funding training, refurbishing and equipping the eye care units at Brahmanbaria and Satkhira District Hospitals in 2008. Funding will be provided to hospitals in Jamalpur and Narail in 2010. Our support will extend to two new districts in 2011 and 2012.

Outreach Mobile Eye Clinics (OMECs) are conducted as part of the Bangladesh District Eye Care Program. Organised by The Foundation in cooperation with local partners, the OMECs involve high volumes of cataract surgery being carried out in Brahmanbaria and Satkhira by staff from the district hospitals' eye units. The Foundation funds the purchase of medicines, intraocular lenses (IOLs), operating theatre dress for the surgical teams, as well as consumables such as eye patches and eye drops. Patient transport, accommodation and food are also provided.

In 2008, the OMECs were conducted in partnership with a team from Nepal's Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO). The clinics provided an opportunity for the TIO-trained Bangladeshi surgeons to demonstrate their expertise and fine-tune their skills with support from the Tilganga team.

Bangladesh Childhood Cataract Campaign

The Foundation is also working collaboratively with Sightsavers International on the Bangladesh Childhood Cataract Campaign. Implemented nationally, this initiative aims to restore the eye sight of 10,000 children affected by bilateral and unilateral cataracts by the end of 2010.

Strengthening advocacy and coordination

With the goal to eradicate avoidable blindness by 2020, The Foundation works collaboratively with the National Institute of Ophthalmology and government personnel at the district and upazila level, establishing and supporting District V2020 committees.

The Foundation is also a member of a forum comprised of International Non-Government Organisations working in Eye Care in Bangladesh (INGO Forum). The members of the INGO Forum collaborate to support, coordinate and promote the NGO and government efforts to implement eye care plans and develop and provide eye care services in Bangladesh.