This project is supported by the L'OCCITANE Foundation.
Context
In Burkina Faso, blindness is the leading cause of disability, with 32,377 blind people out of a total of 168,698 disabled persons, representing nearly 20%. A survey on avoidable blindness known as the RAAB survey, conducted in 2011 in the Centre-West region, revealed a prevalence of bilateral blindness of 0.8% in the population over 50 years old, the most frequently encountered blindness pathologies being cataract (66.7%), non-trachomatous corneal opacities (5.7%), trachoma (3.4%) and glaucoma (2.3%).
Despite efforts made since including establishment of an eye care program, studies carried out and an Eye Health Strategic Plan drawn up, eye care services are insufficient and unequally distributed. There is also a lack of materials, quality equipment and insufficient human resources on eye health. The eye health context in the Cascades region is similar to the national level. According to Cascades regional eye health unit statistics in 2020, the main blinding causes in this region were respectively, in order of importance: cataract, trachoma, xerophthalmia, glaucoma and retinopathies.
Supported Project
In 2022-2023, The L'OCCITANE Foundation supports Sightsavers for their project aiming to improve access to quality eye health care for the people of the Cascades region.
The key areas of focus for the project are:
- improving geographical and financial access to eye health care for the population of Cascade region through screening campaigns, the provision of equipment and the management of eye pathologies
- Improving prevention, information, and awareness of vulnerable populations in eye health by training health workers, practicioners and teachers,and the production or reproduction of awareness tools
- Ensuring availability of qualified human resources for eye health by providing formative supervision and train specialists in the detection and correction of refractive errors
- Strengthen governance and leadership and coordination of the Eye Health System at the national regional and district level
Some Figures
Budget 120,000 euros
Goal 13,000 beneficiaries
History of the Project
The L'OCCITANE Foundation already already supported this project in 2021-2022; View the page
