Samoa’s Eye Health Department within the Ministry of Health recently hosted an eye health stakeholder consultation with the aim of lessening avoidable blindness in the country.

Officials from the M.O.H. including district health facilities in Upolu and Savai'i, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture (M.E.S.C.), the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.), The Fred Hollows Foundation (N.Z.), and the US Embassy in Samoa were part of the consultation. The key priority for the stakeholders at the consultation is to enable early and easy access to quality eye care for all Samoans, according to a media release issued by the M.O.H. last Friday.

The consultation included a presentation from Samoa’s only ophthalmologist, Dr. Lucilla Ah Ching-Sefo on the landscape of eye health in Samoa pointing out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

Dr Ah Ching-Sefo emphasised that ophthalmic nurse training had been a particular success over the last couple of decades, with 17 ophthalmic nurses graduating from the Fiji National University’s one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Eye Care (PGDEC) as a result of the strong partnership between The Fred Hollows Foundation N.Z. and the Pacific Eye Institute in Fiji. 

The training of the workforce has enabled access to quality eye care by tens of thousands of Samoans, she added. 

According to Samoa's sole ophthalmologist, the achievements made by the ophthalmic workforce to enable good access to primary eye care across Samoa, which was non-existent in recent times, is progress that she is proud of. 

Samoa's Minister of Health, Valasi Tafito Selesele delivered the keynote address and spoke of the immense achievements made in increasing access to quality eye care in Samoa. He acknowledged the progress made in fortifying Samoa's eye health care system through improved infrastructure and a skilled workforce. 

"While we've done some incredible work, it's essential to always strive for more. Our mission is to guarantee quality eye care for all Samoan citizens," said Valasi.

The Health Director-General, Aiono Dr. Alec Ekeroma, spoke of the importance of a national eye health policy and noted the consultation would help drive its development. He said Samoa has undertaken long-term planning exercises and is in a strong position. However, an endorsed policy would help to ensure the long-term focus and investment in eye health to accelerate progress.

Strong eye health leadership and planning are critical for addressing the significant impact that vision loss has on economic development caused by diabetes, which disproportionately affects the working-age population, thus contributing to the cycle of unemployment and poverty. Diabetic retinopathy (diabetes eye disease) remains top of the agenda for the M.O.H. given the rising rates of diabetes in the region, which increases the likelihood of blindness by 25 times. 

Over the coming decades, it is projected that the prevalence of vision loss will markedly increase, due to rapidly growing and ageing populations, along with behavioural and lifestyle changes, ongoing increases in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), urbanisation, and the climate crisis. 

"As we look to the future, let us chart our course with the foresight to prevent the avoidable, treat the curable, and empower the affected," said Aiono. "Together, we can shape a future where vision impairment and avoidable blindness are the exception, not the norm."