Papua New Guinea (PNG), a country with great natural beauty, is one of Australia’s closest neighbours. Its mountainous landscape is cloaked in dense tropical forests - teeming with wildlife and natural resources. This breathtaking terrain, however, means many communities can only be reached on foot and eye care is often several days walk away.
Access to eye care is one problem, affordability is another. AusAID reports approximately 40 per cent of the population live in extreme poverty, on less than US$1 a day.
The link between poverty and avoidable blindness has been clearly established. Uncorrected vision impairment leads to profound economic disadvantage to individuals, their families and communities.
ICEE Chief Executive Officer, Professor Brien Holden, commented, “People suffering from vision problems are more likely to be excluded from basic education, suffer from isolation and have fewer employment opportunities. Good vision allows children to learn at school and adults to provide for their families. There is a direct and immediate, often life changing, benefit when a person’s vision is restored”.
PNG Eye Care, a new initiative of ICEE, opened doors of the Port Moresby Vision Centre. The Vision Centre, located in the Port Moresby General Hospital, will provide accessible eye care and affordable glasses.
President of PNG Eye Care, Dr Jambi Garap, explained the desperate need for this service, “In PNG, 29.2% and 8.9% of people over 50 years of age are vision impaired and functionally blind respectively. Uncorrected refractive error, or the need for a pair of glasses to see, is a leading cause of vision impairment”.
“PNG is in need of eye care services that provide quality and access to care for all people regardless of their economic circumstances,” she added.
“This is a great example of partnership between the local community, government and ICEE. In PNG we now have an established system for training local eye health workers, a supply chain for low cost spectacles and the ability to expand to meet the demands of the population. This system provides people with eye care that ultimately gives them opportunities – it is a wonderful first step for PNG Eye Care,” said ICEE Chair, Professor Brien Holden.
