Antonia McCurchin, a refractionist based in West Demerara © Sightsavers

Supporting Training in Guyana

Guyana, with a population of approximately 769,000, is one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean. It is estimated that over 30,000 Guyanese are blind or have low vision.

To address the desperate need for services, and health care professionals to deliver them, Sightsavers has supported Eye Care Guyana's Regional Refractionist Training Course since 2005. So far eight refractionists have been trained - six based in Guyana, one in Jamaica and one in St. Lucia. (Refractionists check people's eyesight, and prescribe glasses if they are needed.)

The Guyanese refractionists will complement the services provided in the capital's Georgetown Public Hospital, and will be based in outlying public hospitals in Berbice, Bartica, Suddie, Linden and West Demerara. They will help provide eye care throughout the country and ensure services are available at community level.

All our work in Guyana (and indeed the Caribbean) is implemented in collaboration with our partner the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB). CCB's Eye Care Guyana Office was established in 2002.

 

Achievements

 

Delivering V2020 in Guyana

With our partners in Guyana we are supporting the training and development of:

• 12 refractionists
• 5 optometrists
• 3 ophthalmologists
• 2 low vision specialists
• 8 low vision councillors
• 400 primary health care workers
• 1 spectacle lab technician
•  2 maintenance technicians
• 4 vision centres
• 2 surgical theatres