Evaluations and lessons learnt

In addition to regular monitoring of all programs, The Foundation conducts periodic evaluations of our activities. These provide The Foundation, implementing partners and other stakeholders with an opportunity to assess our progress towards goals, make adjustments, and draw out lessons that can inform future work.

Here are some recent examples of evaluations and reviews conducted by The Foundation.

Vietnam

Mid-term review of Urban Childhood Blindness Prevention Project

The review found that the project is addressing clear needs and the services being provided are appropriate and relevant.

The project supports the Ministry of Education and Training’s policy to screen children’s vision, the National Blindness Prevention Strategy, the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Blindness Prevention Strategy, and Vietnam’s commitments to the VISION 2020: The Right To Sight Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness.

The project has established a level of sustainability by working with city-level hospitals. The provision of refraction equipment to the Hanoi Eye Hospital and the HCMC district hospitals has provided an opportunity to establish new services on a fee-for-service basis, which increases the overall sustainability of the services.

The review recommended that during the remainder of the project, the project team focus on ensuring children are being referred for surgery where required and that trained eye care staff are being retained, or replaced when they relocate.

The review also recommended increasing involvement of teachers to provide information and counsel to students and parents on the importance of glasses.

The project also needs to consider appropriate communication strategies to influence behaviour change amongst community members, including developing and disseminating health information messages to relevant audiences through channels such as local media, and working with mass organisations such as the Vietnam Women’s Union and others.

	Eritrea Review of primary eye care work In Eritrea, The Foundation undertook a review of the Primary Eye Care work it is supporting in collaboration with the Eritrean Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Blindness Prevention and Control (NBPC) Program. The review highlighted the need for continuous training and refresher training for health care workers involved in primary eye care, both through formal training programmes and individual support and assistance. In addition, primary eye care workers require an improved supply of essential materials and equipment, including eye health information resources and basic medical supplies. The review recommended that primary eye care-specific objectives and targets be included in the NBPC Program planning and better mechanisms to monitor the volume and quality of work of Primary Eye Care Workers be put in place. These recommendations will be taken up with the MoH and the NBPC Program management team.
	China Evaluation of Gaoan project In China, a final evaluation of a project in Gaoan found that the project has created a successful model of sustainable eye care at a county level, which has the potential for replication in other provinces across the country. The Foundation will be using these findings to inform planning of activities in other locations in China including trying to influence local policy makers to increase support for eye care services.
	Cambodia Evaluation of the Ophthalmology Residency Training Program In Cambodia, a final evaluation of the Ophthalmology Residency Training Program (ORT) for 2007-2011 was undertaken. The evaluation recommended that the program be continued and in May 2012 there will be a visit from the ORT Committee to Australia to plan the next phase of the program. Quote from the evaluation report: “The training program has been fully accredited by the Cambodia University of Health Sciences. In fact, Professor Seang Tharith (UHS) has recommended that the program should be used as a model for development in other areas.”
	Bangladesh *Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness* In Bangladesh, The Foundation supported a Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) in eight districts to estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness in people over 50 years of age. The survey found that prevalence remains high with the majority of cases being avoidable. The findings from this survey have been used to inform the project design and they will serve as a baseline against which progress will be measured throughout the life of the project.
	Nepal Mid-term review of the Nepal VISION 2020 strategy In Nepal, The Foundation contributed to the review of the Nepal VISION 2020 strategy which resulted in a new 10-year Action Plan that has been adopted by the Ministry of Health and Population and was publicly disseminated on World Sight Day 2011.