ICEE collaborations increase Vision Centres in Tanzania by six

Tanzania, East Africa, 10 November 2011: With over 10 million Tanzanians struggling with poor vision simply due to the need for an eye examination and a pair of glasses, the country is in drastic need of increased eye care services. The launch of six Vision Centres supported by ICEE in regional hospitals across Tanzania, is a major advancement for the people with vision impairment whose education and employment opportunities are restricted simply because they don't have access to affordable eye care.

On 9 November 2011, a ceremony was held at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, to celebrate the handing over of equipment and lenses stock for the new Vision Centres supported by ICEE in six regional hospitals in Dodoma, Iringa, Singida, Mwanza, Ruvuma and Mbeya, bringing the national total of Vision Centres to fourteen.

Mr Yahya Mgongolwa, Registrar of Tanzania Optometric Council, Ministry of Health praised the collaboration between the Ministry of Health and ICEE. "The opening of the new vision centres will offer the people of Tanzania a better quality of life through increased provision of eye care available at a rate which is affordable. We anticipate these new health services will go a long way toward helping to reduce the daily hardship many people suffer and we welcome them greatly," he said.

ICEE equips all Vision Centres with a full set of diagnostic, optical lab equipment and seed stock of lenses and frames to facilitate the centre's smooth running. The initiative is ultimately aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision impairment caused by uncorrected refractive error by the year 2020 in Tanzania.

Global Programme Director for ICEE, Professor Kovin Naidoo, showed his excitement for the new progression. "This is a milestone for eye care in Tanzania. This project is a perfect example of how government and non-government organisations can partner to develop and implement integrated sustainable vision care outcomes for people in most need. I believe it is a pathway for all who aspire to further development of new health care services in existing systems throughout Africa," he said.

Eden Mashayo, ICEE Tanzania Country Officer says, "Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa that trains optometrists locally and has them working in the public hospitals employed by the Ministry of Health. ICEE has up-skilled a total of 25 local optometrists, and is assisting the set up of the Vision Centres by sourcing the equipment, supervising and offering training for the daily running."

The ICEE Tanzanian Vision Centre Project was initiated in 2008 and to date six vision centres have been subsequently launched in Bariadi, Kahama, Kibaha, Bagamoyo district hospitals, Lindi and the Mtwara regional hospital in Tanzania. Two further vision centres were established in Zanzibar in Unguja and Pemba in June 2011.

The Ministry of Health has shown a keen interest in having the new Vision Centres and the ones previously established in the respective hospitals, working as sustainable entities over time, which is the ultimate goal of this collaboration for ICEE.