This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Optometry program planned for Haiti
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Optometry Giving Sight will seek support from the eye health industry to help fund the development of an optometry program at the University of Haiti, according to an announcement from the World Council of Optometry.
The collaborative project will be initiated by the L’UEH, the Brien Holden Vision Institute, VOSH International and Optometry Giving Sight, the announcement said.
There are currently only three optometrists and 58 ophthalmologists in this country of 10 million, the group said. The first class of students could enroll as soon as 2015.
“The process of rebuilding continues in Haiti, and the country is now ready to embark on the development of health and eye care programs,” Clive Miller, global CEO of Optometry Giving Sight, said in the announcement. “With the help of the international community, the opportunity now exists to establish not only an optometry program, but also, eventually, a comprehensive eye health program that will increase capacity through education and research, strengthen overall health systems and impact government policy to provide for current and future needs.”