March 20, 2020

COVID-19 Resources: Here is what we know

Judith Stern
Head of Knowledge
Organisation: International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly changing the way the health and development communities are working. With the proximity of eye health professionals to patients during eye examinations and reports that the virus can cause conjunctivitis, COVID-19 has implications for eye health and eye health professionals. Travel restrictions, reprioritisation of health resources and…

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March 13, 2020

Live Report: Catalyzing glaucoma treatment and training in Ethiopia

Scott Lawrence
Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Kellogg Eye Center for International Ophthalmology and Clinical Associate Professor at The University of Tennessee
Organisation: Kellogg Eye Center for International Ophthalmology

For World Glaucoma Week, Dr. Scott Lawrence, Kellogg Eye Center for International Ophthalmology (KECIO) reports from an active surgical outreach to alleviate blindness in Southern Ethiopia. A farmer carries his 3-year-old son into the exam room. Our cursory examination reveals enlarged eyes with cloudy corneas and elevated eye pressures. Undiagnosed and untreated congenital glaucoma remains…

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March 13, 2020

Glaucoma Q&A with Dr Kham Od Nouansavanh

Drew Keys
Regional Program Manager, Western Pacific
Organisation: International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

For World Glaucoma Week, Drew Keys does a Q&A with Dr Kham Od Nouansavanh, the only glaucoma specialist practicing in Laos. Where do you work and what do you do? I work as an ophthalmologist at the National Ophthalmology Centre (NOC) in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Currently, I am the only glaucoma specialist, who is…

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March 13, 2020

Developing an affordable glaucoma drainage device in Indonesia

Prof William Morgan
Managing Director
Organisation: Lions Eye Institute and Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, UWA

For World Glaucoma Week,  Professor William Morgan on use of a glaucoma drainage device Indonesia… Glaucoma is the second common cause of blindness in Indonesia, with an estimated 330,000 bilaterally blind patients. The rate is approximately 7/1000 over the age of 50 are blind from glaucoma. The glaucoma prevalence rate is 5 percent with slightly more…

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March 13, 2020

Glaucoma in Wales

Wai Siene Ng
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon (Glaucoma)
Organisation: University Hospital of Wales

For World Glaucoma Week, Wai Siene Ng on glaucoma in Wales… Wai Siene Ng is part of Allergan Foundation’s International Glaucoma Panel. Wales is one of the four countries which together with England, Northern Ireland and Scotland form the United Kingdom. Health care is publicly funded in the form of the National Health Service (NHS) and…

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March 13, 2020

Glaucoma in Rural India

Nikhil S Choudhari
V S T Glaucoma Centre, Kallam Anji Reddy Campus
Organisation: LV Prasad Eye Institute

For World Glaucoma Week, Nikhil Choudhari and Rohit Khanna on glaucoma in rural India… Glaucoma is recognized as one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness across the world. According to a 2010 estimate, the number of people with glaucoma was 11 million and another 24 million were at risk of the disease in India.1 A…

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March 12, 2020

Tackling glaucoma in India and Nigeria

Imran Khan
Chief Global Technical Lead
Organisation: Sightsavers

For World Glaucoma Week, Imran Khan on Keep Sight, which is tackling glaucoma in Nigeria and India… “My sight went in one eye about a year ago, and then in the other six months later. The consultant has told me that my sight could have been saved if I’d have come here sooner. I just don’t…

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March 12, 2020

Glaucoma Challenges in Africa

Amel Meddeb-Ouertani
Executive Vice-President Middlle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology

For World Glaucoma Week, Amel Meddeb-Ouertani on why we need to come together to tackle glaucoma especially in Africa… Africa is the poorest region in the world: ½ of the population live on less than 1 $/ day. Millions of people don’t have access to health care in general and less than 25% currently have regular access…

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March 12, 2020

Glaucoma is Coming Silently

Sangchul Yoon
Ophthalmologist
Organisation: Severance Hospital

For World Glaucoma Week, Sangchul Yoon on glaucoma in South Korea, risk factors and more… The order of the leading cause of global blindness is cataract, refractive error, glaucoma, and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). However, the impact of cataract on the number of people who are blind is quite different in high income countries like South…

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March 12, 2020

Why Family History Matters

Mona Kaleem
Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Organisation: University of Maryland School of Medicine

For World Glaucoma Week, Mona Kaleem on why family history matters with glaucoma… I began taking care of glaucoma patients well before I even decided on a career in the medical field. My first patient was my grandmother, a woman who had been widowed young and left to raise three children on her own. She overcame…

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March 12, 2020

A Potential Glaucoma patients wish…

Mohd Aziz Husni
Head of Department & Consultant Ophthalmologist
Organisation: Hospital Selayang

For World Glaucoma Week, Dr Mohd Aziz Husni writes the fears of a person with a family history of glaucoma… Dear Ophthalmologist, Optometrist, Optician and all Primary Health Caregivers, For those of you who don’t know me, it’s okay. I am just your ordinary family man in his mid-forties. My dad is currently blind due to…

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March 12, 2020

Advancing Glaucoma Care in Southern Haiti

Mark Rakoczy
Treasurer, VOSH International and President, VOSH PA
Organisation: VOSH International
For World Glaucoma Week, Mark S. Rakoczy on advancing glaucoma care in Southern Haiti... The sights and sounds that stick with me the most are the ones that keep me up at night as an optometrist. An elderly gentleman, shuffling his way into our eye clinic on the arm of his daughter.  As he reaches for…

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March 11, 2020

Alleviating Childhood Blindness from Congenital Glaucoma in Saudi Arabia

Rizwan Malik

For World Glaucoma Week, Drs Rizwan Malik and Deepak P. Edward discuss the advances that Ophthalmologists at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) are making to tackle childhood blindness from congenital glaucoma in the Kingdom. Alleviating childhood blindness is a priority for the World Health Organization (WHO). Approximately 8,000 children are estimated to have functional low vision…

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March 11, 2020

Glaucoma related blindness in Hungary

Áron Szabó
Department of Ophthalmology
Organisation: University of Szeged

For World Glaucoma Week, Aron Szabo on glaucoma related blindness in Hungary… Hungary conducted its first and only population-based study to date between 2014 and 2015. It included 3523 individuals and followed the Rapid Assessment for Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey methodology. The prevalence of bilateral blindness (presenting visual acuity <0.05 for the better seeing eye) was…

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March 11, 2020

The Takeaway: fighting glaucoma with lessons from across the pond

Lauren Entwistle
Eye Nurse
Organisation: Royal Perth Hospital

For World Glaucoma Week, Lauren Entwistle on sustainable solutions to handle the growing number of glaucoma patients at health facilities in Australia… When our reception clerks get out the sticky tape my heart sinks a little and I make sure to ask for an extra shot in my flat white before heading back to clinic. They’ve…

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March 9, 2020

Should we be doing more about Glaucoma?

Jess Blijkers
Deputy Director of Programmes, Eye Health and NTDs
Organisation: LIGHT FOR THE WORLD
For World Glaucoma Week, Jess Blijkers raises the question should we be doing more about Glaucoma? The World Report on Vision states that 6.9 million people worldwide have glaucoma. While this is of course much less that conditions like uncorrected refractive errors or cataract, the fact that Glaucoma blindness is irreversible makes the need to find these…

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March 9, 2020

Glaucoma community collaborative care programme

Bernardo Soares
The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
Organisation: Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital

For World Glaucoma Week,  Bernardo Soares on glaucoma collaborative care programmes… About one in 200 Australians will develop glaucoma by the age of 40.1 With our current life expectancy at 81 years (male) and 85 years (female),2 a growing cohort of patients will require up to 40 years of regular eye appointments to manage the condition.…

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March 9, 2020

Azah and the big grey, tearing and blinking eye

Marvice Okwen
Pediatric ophthalmologist and squint surgeon
Organisation: Abii Specialist Medical Foundation

For World Glaucoma Week, Dr Marvice Okwen on glaucoma in Cameroon and what needs to be done… While setting up my slit lamp, a blind man walked in, holding a 2month old baby; and said, ‘doctor! I heard you over the radio talking about glaucoma in children; I think my child has the kind of eyes…

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