Primary eye care in Pan America: a program developed by the Pan American Health Organization and Help the World See

Publication year: 1994

The number of people in the world who need eyeglasses is well studied and predictable:

approximately one of every two persons needs this care. In developed countries, most who need eyeglasses can get them; the reverse is true in developing countries. It is generally seen that only 10 to 15 percent of the people in developing countries receive basic eye care. Beyond the basic need for eyeglasses is the problem of blindness. More that 40 million are blind. As many as 40 percent of these cases could have been prevented with early detection and appropriate treatment. While eye care is available everywhere, in most developing countries the cost is extremely high when compared to the average income. Additionally, there are not enough practitioners available to serve the population. Governments are aware of this shortfall. However, there are limited resources and many competing needs with higher priority. Help The World See is a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to provide primary eye care in developing countries. Help The World See has developed an approach to resolving the problem of shortage of primary eye care. The concept is to establish a managed, fee-for-service, primary low cost system within developing countries. The system will provide primary eye care at a very low cost compared to existing systems. Each new system will be economically self-sustaining and will require no subsidy from the government or any other organization

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