Context

There are currently 45 millions people worldwide living with vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is expected o increase by the year 2040. This most common complication of diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among working-age populations in the developed world. The prevalence of vision-threathening DR is higher in Asia and many low-middle income countries are ill-equiped to identify and manage DR, with as few as 10% having been diagnosed and treated.

The diabetic retinopathy prevalence is especially increasing in Laos where it is a major public health issue. However, there is no retina specialist in the country and the equipment available for the diagnosis and treatment of retina patients is minimal. 

 

Supported project

In 2020-2021, L'OCCITANE Australia and the L'OCCITANE Foundation are supporting Sight for All's project to train a retina specialist in Laos. Over a two-year period, Sight for All will enlist one fully-trained retina specialist to spend a week in the clinic and operating theatre at the National Opthalmology Centre in Vientiane conducting one-to-one training with a selected fellow. 

The project will have a profound local impact for a modest financial input, while providing high quality eye health care in Laos. 

Some figures

Budget 20,792 euros

Results 59,450 beneficiaries