Jamaica-Cuba Eye Care Programme to resume in August
Published:Wednesday | May 3, 2023 | 6:29 PM
Jamaica-Cuba Eye Care Programme to resume in August
The long-awaited resumption of the Jamaica-Cuba Eye Care Programme is to commence in August.
The programme was suspended in February 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expiry of the contract period.
In January, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, indicated that the programme, which sees the undertaking of cataract and other eye surgeries, would resume by the first quarter of the year, which closed at the end of March.
Contributing to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today, Tufton stated the Ministry has heard the call by many Jamaicans who need the programme to be restarted.
He also indicated that other eye care initiatives are to be introduced.
“We will explore other eye care centres in public facilities across the island. This will be achieved not only by our collaboration with our friends in Cuba but also through the re-engagement of our local Ophthalmology Programme,” he noted.
“It is anticipated that at least 2,000 Jamaicans will receive the much-needed eye care interventions that will mitigate blindness and the negative impact that this condition causes,” the health minister added.
This has started with addressing the backlog of persons waiting for cataract surgery at the Kingston Public Hospital.
“We will continue with increasing the number of diabetics being screened in the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme in our primary care centres,” Tufton said.
“In addition, there is a particular area that we would like to pay special attention to this year. That's with our children in schools. Too often we misdiagnose children's learning difficulties as a sign of deviant behaviour in our schools and do not recognise that it could be a consequence of vision impairment,” he noted.
Ultimately, the health minister said, the goal is to address eye care with “greater deliberateness in our primary schools across Jamaica.
“The aim is to visit 50 schools and to do free eye screening and, where required, to provide the necessary interventions. This will be done over an 18-month period,” he said.
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