About the Program
Most eye care services in Bangladesh are based in major cities, however over 75% of the country's population live in rural areas without access to services. The Fred Hollows Foundation is working to overcome this imbalance by supporting the development of eye care services provided in rural areas of Bangladesh.
Through the development of quality services at district hospitals the population of Bangladesh, half of whom live below the poverty line, are able to access and receive eye care.
The Foundations support in Bangladesh focuses on providing
- Human resource development by training Ophthalmologists, eye care staff and administration personnel
- Infrastructure development by renovating and refurbishing eye units in district hospitals and purchasing required equipment
- Service delivery by developing consumable supply systems and supporting the access to quality and affordable services
- Advocacy and Partnerships by working with Government, NGOs and stakeholder to collaboratively develop eye care services in Bangladesh and the region.
The Foundation works in partnership with Grameen Kalyan and the National Institute of Ophthalmology in Bangladesh.
In addition to working directly with partners, the Foundation is also a member of a forum comprised of International Non-Government Organisations working in Eye Care in Bangladesh (INGO Forum). The members of the INGO Forum collaborate to support, coordinate and promote the NGO and the Government efforts to implement eye care plans and develop and provide eye care services in Bangladesh.
Grammen Kalyan
The Foundation has supported the training of surgeons and ophthalmic assistants within the primary health care clinics operated by Grameen Kalyan in the Tangail District of Bangladesh. This training has been facilitated through funding eye health personnel to train at Tilganga Eye Centre in Nepal, as well as providing further practical training and experience at Mega Eye Clinics held in Bangladesh.
The mega eye clinics, which are temporary clinics set up in a remote areas and run over 5-7 days, are an important opportunity to train local eye health personnel in surgical techniques and clinic management. The clinics also raise the awareness of cataract in local communities and provide quality services to a large number of people who would otherwise be unable to access these services.
The most recent mega eye clinic was held at Alenga in early 2005 and the next clinic will be held in early 2008.
The Foundation has sponsored eye health specialists from Nepal to visit Bangladesh and participate in the mega eye clinics. The Nepali specialists bring expertise in cataract surgical techniques as well as vast experience in developing blindness prevention and treatment programs.
Bangladesh Australia District Eye Care Program
The Bangladesh Australia District Eye Care Program is a pilot program for The Foundation that aims to assist the Government of Bangladesh to provide effective and affordable eye care services. This will be achieved through the development of eye care services in two government hospitals during the pilot phase - Brahmanbaria District Hospital and Satkhira District Hospital.
Eye care services will be developed by training local eye care staff, refurbishing and equipping an eye care unit in each hospital and establishing a system of affordable consumables for cataract surgery.
The BADEC Program will:
- Train ophthalmic surgeons in small incision cataract surgery
- Train nurses in ophthalmic nursing
- Construct and refurbish operating theatre facilities
- Provide appropriate medical equipment
- Set a system in place to provide consumables for cataract surgery at an affordable price
The pilot program will be conducted in the two selected districts over a period of two years. An evaluation will then take place to determine if the program can be extended to other Government district hospitals.