Pieter Willem, Franco Prinsloo & Etienne Bramley

A COLLABORATIVE MODEL TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND ACCESS TO QUALITY EYE CARE FOR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES. This innovative initiative is focused on offering patients living in vulnerable communities and rural settings affordable and quality eye care. The standout model involves overseeing optometry students to conduct eye tests and distribute spectacles at a low cost at clinics and university campuses. By making testing more accessible, preventable eye conditions are diagnosed and treated to reduce blindness. Eye surgery will be conducted by ophthalmologists at no cost to a limited number of patients annually. The aim is to develop a replicative model using a mobile service and to establish on-site optical laboratories to produce affordable spectacles while patients wait.