According to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness over 1.1 million people are affected by vision impairment in the Caribbean. Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness in the world and in the Caribbean - accounting for at least 50% of all blindness. Glaucoma is also one of the most common irreversible eye diseases in the region.
Flying Eye Hospital Lands in Barbados
The Flying Eye Hospital has landed in Barbados for its two-week regional conference with the Ophthalmological Society of the West Indies. This is the first time the plane has ever touched down in Barbados.
According to the Barbados Eye Study in 1994, the prevalence of open-angle glaucoma in Afro-Caribbeans over 40 was among the highest in the world at 7%, with the majority (53%) of cases undetected. Glaucoma affects 1 in 11 Afro-Caribbeans over 50, and almost 1 in 6 of people over 70 years old.
Local eye teams boarding the Flying Eye Hospital for training in Barbados
The Flying Eye Hospital has a long history of working in the Caribbean since its inception in 1982. This is the 24th project in the Caribbean, and the first in Barbados. The focus of the two-week regional conference is to strengthen the skills eye health professionals in the Caribbean including Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Haiti, St. Vincent and St. Lucia, focusing on cataract, glaucoma, strabismus and retina diseases.
One of our Volunteer Faculty giving training on board the Flying Eye Hospital in Barbados
Orbis also provides ongoing support for the annual Ophthalmological Society of the West Indies conference, including speakers and funding of allied health and nursing workshops; collaborating on a pilot nursing initiative in Trinidad; and working closely with the residency directors at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica.
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