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Signing of the MOU all staff

From Left Dr Karen Paarz, Ms Aoife Phelan, Ms Patricia Mordaunt, Dr James Loughman, Ms Reshma Dabideen, Prof Roger Anderson, Prof Jorge Ferrao, Prof Brian Norton, Prof Kovin Naidoo

The Mozambique Eyecare Project aims to train Mozambique’s first professional optometrists and optometry technicians who will provide a sustainable and comprehensive eye-care system as an integral part of the national health system. Mozambique currently has only 16 ophthalmologists for a population of 21 million, very few optometrists and mid level ophthalmic technicians. Over the five years of the project, the Mozambican People will benefit from comprehensive eye examinations and the provision of glasses which until now are simply not available to them.

The Mozambique Eyecare Programme is a partnership.The programme will facilitate the development, implementation and evaluation of a regional optometry model for Lusophone Africa. It will encompass the involvement of staff from Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and University of Ulster (Ulster), in collaboration with the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) and Lurio University in Mozambique, and supported by the Mozambique Eye Care Coalition (MECC - a coalition of NGDO’s and Mozambique Ministry of Health).  A regional College of Optometry, situated at Lurio University campus, will act as a centre for undergraduate optometric education and postgraduate research.   

The countries targeted to benefit from this training program are Lusophone countries of Angola, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome e Principe and Cape Verde. By 2013, more than 45 optometric personnel will have been trained to deliver primary eye care and refractive services to address the needs of more than 20 million people in Lusophone Africa who currently have no access to eye care.  

In addition, an Optical Workshop, with trained technical and administrative personnel, will be developed as part of the Training School to provide affordable spectacles to those in need of them.    

After the implementation of the 5-year cycle pilot project, it is hoped that a successful, well-developed and sustainable system for training for optometric personnel for Lusophone Africa would have been developed. This model is similar to that being implemented in Malawi for Anglo-phone Southern Africa region.