Flagship programme
Community Vision Restoration & Eye Health Programme
A 24-month programme connecting community eye-health education and screening with clinical assessment, referral, treatment, cataract surgery, post-operative follow-up and monitoring of visual outcomes across Dodoma Region.
Rationale
Treatable, yet untreated
Cataract and uncorrected refractive error are the leading causes of blindness and vision impairment worldwide. Both can be treated with some of the most effective and affordable interventions in health care: cataract surgery and spectacles.
Yet in rural and low-income communities people often live with poor sight for years. Services may be far away. The cost of travel, consultation and treatment can be out of reach. Many people do not know that their vision can be restored. And people who are screened in a one-off camp are too often never followed through to treatment.
The programme is designed around that last point. Rather than a single event, it is a continuous pathway that takes responsibility for each person from first contact to a measured result.
Target communities
Who the programme serves
Rural & underserved communities
Villages and households in Dodoma Region with limited access to specialist eye care.
Older people with cataract
Adults whose sight is clouding with cataract and who could regain independence through surgery.
Children & students
Young people whose learning suffers because an uncorrected refractive error goes unnoticed.
Vulnerable households
Families for whom the cost of consultation, spectacles or surgery is a barrier to care.
People with low vision
People who need low-vision assessment and rehabilitation to live and work more independently.
Interventions
What the programme delivers
Community eye-health education
Awareness through community leaders, health workers and local media so people recognise problems early and know where to go.
Screening
Vision screening in communities, schools and health facilities, bringing the first step of care close to home.
Referral
A clear referral pathway from screening to clinical assessment, so no one is left without a next step.
Cataract care
Safe and effective cataract surgery for vulnerable and rural patients, with support to reach treatment.
Refractive correction
Affordable or free refraction and quality spectacles for those who need them.
Specialist eye care & diagnostics
Specialist assessment and diagnostics through our clinical partner for conditions beyond cataract and refraction.
Follow-up & low vision
Post-operative follow-up, monitoring of visual outcomes, and low-vision assessment and rehabilitation.
Local capacity
Training and mentorship that strengthen local health workers and eye-care services beyond the life of the programme.
Referral pathway
One person's journey through the programme
- 1
Awareness
A community health worker or leader shares eye-health information and announces a screening day.
- 2
Screening
Visual acuity is checked close to home. People with good vision receive advice; others move to the next step.
- 3
Assessment & referral
A clinical assessment identifies the cause: refractive error, cataract or another condition. Each person gets a referral and a plan.
- 4
Treatment
Spectacles are prescribed and provided; cataract surgery or specialist care is delivered with our clinical partner.
- 5
Follow-up
Post-operative checks and continuing care make sure treatment succeeded; low-vision support where needed.
- 6
Outcome recorded
Visual outcomes are measured and recorded, so results can be verified and reported to partners.
Expected results
What success looks like after 24 months
- About 100,000 people in Dodoma Region reached with eye-health education and services.
- More people with cataract receiving safe surgery with good visual outcomes.
- More people with refractive error seeing clearly with quality spectacles.
- Earlier detection and fewer people lost between screening and treatment.
- Stronger local capacity through training, mentorship and partnership.
- Verified, published results that partners and government can rely on.
Detailed targets and indicators are set out in the programme proposal, available to prospective partners on request.
Partners
Who makes it possible
Optiview Specialised Eye Clinic
A specialised eye clinic in Dodoma providing clinical assessment, diagnostics, cataract surgery, refractive services and specialist eye care within the programme.
Ministry of Health: National Eye Care Programme
The programme is aligned with national eye-care priorities and works through the Ministry of Health's National Eye Care Programme.
Help fund the programme
Your support can pay for screening days, spectacles, cataract operations and the follow-up that makes them last. Partners receive verified reporting on results.