The Mozambique Eyecare Project: Implementing a Model That Addresses Uncorrected Refractive Error in Lusophone Africa.

BACKGROUND Optometric education and resources are drastically deficient in most of Africa, more so in Lusophone Africa where the problem is compounded by language barriers which isolate these countries from related developments in Africa and/or the developed world. The Mozambique Eyecare Programme is a multi-partner collaboration between The International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), Universidade Lúrio in Mozambique, Technological University Dublin, and the University of Ulster in Ireland, designed to address the need for optometric education in Lusophone Africa. AIM This paper aims to document the current situation with regards to human resource development in eyecare in Mozambique and offer analysis of the status and challenges facing the only programme addressing the problem of uncorrected refractive error and low vision in Lusophone Africa through education. METHODS The extent of uncorrected refractive error and existing optometric services in Nampula Province will be extrapolated from the results from a Rapid Assessment of Refractive Error and a situational analysis. The challenges faced by the Mozambique Eyecare Programme will be analysed using results from a baseline survey of students, key informant interviews and analysis of optometric resources available that are published in Portuguese. RESULTS The research into the implementation of the Mozambique Eyecare Programme is ongoing. Results are currently unavailable, but relevant data and analyses emerging from current research within the next 6 months will be presented at the conference. CONCLUSION Human resource development for refractive service delivery in Lusophone Africa is key to the achievement of VISION 2020 goals in this region. Innovative models of education need to take into account the local need, legislative boundaries and situational constraints in order to successfully achieve desired outcomes within specified timeframes.