Achievements

The Cambodia-Australia Cataract Blindness Prevention Program has made significant progress since it was established in 2002. 

• The number of cataract operations performed in the provinces where The Foundation works was 5,778 and 27, 000 patients were screened;
• The Foundation annually supports national eye health personnel to develop their capacity through training, workshops and international conferences;
• The program continues to donate equipment and instruments to provincial eye units and to facilities in Phnom Penh;
  
• Since 2001, The Foundation has trained 10 eye nurses to act as primary eye care trainers, 196 primary health centre staff and 1,036 village health volunteers in primary eye care;
• The Information Resource Centre at Ang Doung Hospital in Phnom Penh has been developed with a computer, printer, internet access and technical books. A part-time secretary works in the Centre and it has become an important resource for national ophthalmic personnel and students.

The Cambodia-Australia Cataract Blindness Prevention Program made the following achievements in 2006:

• Supported three provincial eye units in Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom and Kandal with primary eye care training, equipment and subsidies for the treatment of eye diseases;
• Three provincial eye units were supported to screen 6,584 patients, subsidise 1,249 cataract operations and perform 317 other eye operations;
• A Cambodian Ophthalmology Residency Training Program was planned and scheduled for 2007;
• Approximately 149 Village Health Volunteers received primary eye care training;
• More than 112 national eye health personnel participated in annual Continuing Medical Education workshops supported by The Foundation;
• Dr To Chhun Seng (Chairman of the NPEH) and Dr Ngy Meng (a key member of the NPEH and President of the Cambodian Ophthalmology Society) were supported to participate in the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology in Singapore. In previous years other ophthalmologists have been supported to attend the conference;
• The Foundation assisted with a review of the national five year Action Plan as well as the development of eye care management and VISION 2020 plans at the provincial level;
• The Foundation's support of World Sight Day on 13 October 2006 resulted in 1,600 primary school students being screened in the three provinces, of which 65 students were diagnosed with refractive error and received free spectacles;
• Delivered three surgical training sessions at each provincial eye unit as part of an ongoing mentoring program. This training was delivered to the three provincial Basic Eye Doctors (BEDs) by Dr Ngy Meng and Dr Reeta Gurung from Tilganga Eye Centre in Nepal;
• A Cataract Surgery Outcomes Monitoring system was established at all eye units to monitor the quality of cataract surgery and to improve surgeons' skills;
• Around US$26,000 worth of equipment and instruments was donated to three provincial eye units;
• Approximately 60 community outreach screening campaigns were completed within remote villages of three provinces and as a result, 4,064 patients were screened;
• In collaboration with the NPEH, more than 12,000 leaflets were produced and distributed to patients, school children and people living in the targeted provinces and communities to educate them about eye health and where to access treatment.