Malawi

	Country Snap Shot & Eyecare Profile
	Country Malawi Region Africa Capital Lilongwe Area (sq/km) 118,480 Geography Provinces / Districts *Population 13,013,926 *Population Below Poverty Line 55% *Infant Mortality/1000 births 94.37 *GDP Per Capita ($US) $600 Schools of Optometry 0 Optometrists 0 Opticians 0 Ophthalmologists Eye Health Workers   Optometrist Association   Vision 2020 Signatory    Vision 2020 National Plan   National Eyecare Health Plan

Thanks to the work of ICEE - International Centre for Eyecare Education and Sight Savers International a group of ‘blind’ children in Malawi can now see clearly for the fi rst time!

Blind Children Can See

Recently, Palesa Dube - Deputy Director and Head of Training of ICEE in Africa - went on the road to the small African nation of Malawi with Hassan Minto from Sight Saver’s International. Their goal? To do a rapid assessment of 120 blind and severely vision impaired children.

The children involved represented a small sample group of the total number of blind and vision impaired children in Malawi. These children are integrated into mainstream schools and get support from special education teachers trained to assist vision impaired students. However this program, developed with the assistance of Sight Savers International, is only established in 8 of the 34 political districts in Malawi. Namely Machinga, Zomba, Blantyer, Lilongwe, Salima, Chikwawa, Malaka and Rumphi. Other resources available in Malawi are 2 special schools, 13 resource centres and other mainstream schools.

The concern was that children involved in the program were not actually blind and that many of the children who desperately need to be in the program are not even attending school.

Palesa stated, “Incredibly we found, that of 120 children examined, half had permanent vision impairment or blindness which could actually be dramatically improved with glasses and simple optical aids. Amazingly, the remainder could be restored to complete normal vision with glasses and simple minor treatments!” What does this mean? Well, of the 120 children examined, only 6% were actually blind. The vast majority of the remaining children could have their vision substantially improved or completely corrected with glasses and other minor treatments.

It was identifi ed that very high prescriptions and other simple optical aids were not accessible in Malawi. It was also found that spectacles are not affordable. Personnel on the ground are not adequately trained to deal with refractive error in children. The other problem identifi ed was the screening tools used by teachers were not adequate nor appropriate. What next? ICEE is now working alongside Sight Savers International with the Malawi Ministry of Health and Education to determine the full scale of the problem and how to best correct this extraordinary situation. It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 children (aged 0-15 years) in Malawi that will need assessment.

Palesa added “There have been stories about blind children in Africa but nothing quite like this. Giving these young children the gift of sight is one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my life… and yet as many as we treat, there are still thousands more to examine - that’s why the funds are so desperately needed. What ICEE and Sight Savers can do together in Malawi is truly quite extraordinary.”

By Dr Kovin Naidoo