CBM Inclusive Eye Health Report 2022:

Accessible, Available and Affordable Eye Care for Everyone

©CBM

CBM has published our Inclusive Eye Health Annual Report 2022. CBM will continue to work with partners to ensure that people with visual impairments receive the eye health care they need so that they can achieve their full potential.

To mark World Sight Day, CBM’s Inclusive Eye Health Initiative has published its   Annual Report. It reflects the diversity and innovation of our current 119 eye health projects in 32 countries and the progress made for more inclusive, accessible and comprehensive eye care.

The report highlights our work in India, where CBM collaborates with our eye health partners. Together, we provide services that are inclusive, comprehensive and integrated into existing health systems to meet the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people.

It also provides an update on our partnership with Peek Vision, which is going from strength to strength. CBM's support and technical expertise, combined with Peek's software are enabling communities and school-based eye health programmes to become more efficient. By the end of December 2021, CBM programmes powered by Peek reached over 506,000 people. CBM connected over 108,100 patients to the care they need in Ethiopia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Country Highlights of CBM's Eye Care Programmes In 2021

India

In India, an estimated 4.8 million people are blind and another 34 million are visually impaired. In 2021, CBM in India implemented 43 eye health projects with 29 partners, serving nearly 1.5 million people. CBM endeavours to work with India's Ministry of Health and our partners to ensure that inclusion is integrated as a core value and practice in India's national eye care plan.

Follow CBM in India’s work here  

Kenya

The Vision Impact Project (VIP) in Kenya, launched in April this year, is an example of CBM’s determination to deliver large-scale, sustainable projects. In the seven counties of Kenya where the CBM-supported work is taking place, more than 8 million people will benefit from eye care they would not otherwise have received.

See how we are partnering with the Kenya Government for inclusive eye care 

Côte d'Ivoire

CBM has also launched a new project funded by USAID's Child Blindness Programme to establish a referral network from the community to the tertiary level. The goal is to screen 224,000 children in the two regions and provide them with glasses or treat those with serious conditions.

Pakistan

Starting with just three sites in Chakwal, CBM eye health programmes in Pakistan have grown into a network of 111 health facilities and 1,567 primary and secondary schools covering a region of 2.5 million people. By the end of 2021, the programmes across Pakistan were screening around 28,000 people per month.

See how a pair of glasses can change lives in Pakistan 

Tanzania

The Peek-powered CBM Community Eye Health Programme, in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania, aims to bring eye health closer to communities in a sustainable way. The project trained 60 primary healthcare workers at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) to use Peek for screening and referral.

The story of Dr. Mchikirwa Msina at KCMC in Tanzania  

Zimbabwe and Nigeria

CBM and Sightsavers began implementing joint programmes in our target countries this year, selecting two pilot countries - Zimbabwe and Nigeria. CBM is taking the lead in Zimbabwe and Sightsavers in Nigeria. The comprehensive programmes will use innovations such as the Peek Platform for screening and referrals of community members and school children.

©CBM/argum/Einberger

Focus on Global Policy and Development  

CBM is part of two advocacy groups working for more equitable and available eye care. Together with members of the IAPB Core Advocacy Group, CBM works to strengthen political will and elevate eye health in global policy developments and institutions, strengthen global accountability, and support members to advocate for person-centred eye care. 

CBM is working with United Friends of Vision to implement last year's UN General Assembly resolution - Vision for Everyone - to maintain global momentum for eye health as an accelerator for progress on the SDGs. 

Scholarship programme

CBM is currently running a scholarship programme in Africa. 22 medical students from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania are training to specialise in ophthalmology. After graduation, the newly qualified doctors work for a certain time in eye clinics and eye centres in their home countries or in regions where there are few or no ophthalmologists. The aim is to facilitate access to equitable and comprehensive eye care for people in African countries by providing high-quality training and increasing the number of specialists.

CBM’s Inclusive Eye Health Activities in Numbers

  • 119 Projects funded
  • 4.6 million People receiving services
  • 32 Project countries
  • 727 Doctors trained