Founded | 1984 |
---|---|
Founded at | Amsterdam |
Type | International non-governmental organization |
Registration no. | member IAPB [1] |
Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Area served | Worldwide |
CEO | Björn Stenvers [2] [3] |
Website | www |
Eye Care Foundation (ECF) is an international charity organisation active in over 20 countries in Asia, [4] Africa [5] [6] and Latin-America. [7]
ECF was founded when Eyecare Worldwide and Mekong Eye Doctors joined forces in 2008. [8] The two organizations shared the same objectives and working together as the current foundation has proved to be more efficient and effective.
Eyecare Worldwide (1984) was founded by a Dutch ophthalmologist who was moved by the plight of the high number of people who suffered from blindness that could be cured or even prevented. Mekong Eye Doctors (1993) was founded by a Dutch biochemist after he had been in Thailand to conduct eye research.
Eye Foundation supports projects in Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Tanzania and Vietnam to prevent and cure visual impairment and preventable blindness. The foundation also helps people who don’t have access to good eye care and can’t afford eye care such as glasses or cataract surgery.
Eye Care Foundation has offices and hospitals in the Himalayan region (Nepal), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, [9] Cambodia, Laos), Africa (Tanzania) [10] and Latin-America (Suriname, Ecuador). [11]
Toine van Peperstraten is Ambassador for the Eye Care Foundation. [12]
The foundation has provided support for eye care in Cambodia since 1997, helping people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. ECF has a focus on building a strong eye care network and providing quality affordable eye care by putting high quality eye care departments in local hospitals. [13] They have collaborated with the National Program For Eye Health by working in partnerships with Provincial Health Services in the provinces of Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Svay Rieng, Tbong Khmum, Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Pailin. ECF has instituted eye care services for groups such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and women and children. [14] In 2007, the Cambodia Office in Phnom Penh was opened.
ECF first visited Laos in 2007, and started projects in the Xieng Khouang and Houa Phanh provinces in 2011. Support was given in these provinces to increase the quality and availability of eye care. In 2018, the field office in Laos was opened. Two ophthalmologists completed the ophthalmology residency and started their work on projects in the Houaphan and Saysomboun provinces. In Saysomboun, a new eye care unit was established and equipped. [15]
ECF supports two major hospitals in Nepal; in Mechi and Pokhara. ECF supports eye health programs in Gandaki, Dhaulagiri, Mechi, Gorkha and Karnali. The Nepal office opened in 1988. [16]
ECF supports the Ministry of Health on two locations: MUHAS University in Dar Es Salaam and Morogoro Region.
In Morogoro region the support is to the only two Referral Hospitals St Francis Referral Hospital (Ifakara) and the Morogoro Referral Hospital (Morogoro) with an Eye Care Department. [17] [18] The St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences with dr. Azaa, mentors the 4 Eye Units in the districts Mahenge, Mlimba, Ifakara and Malinyi District. The other 3 districts are mentored via the Morogoro Referral Hospital with dr. Nassania. To support the increase of future Tanzanian eye care colleagues (Ophthalmologists, Optometrists) ECF supports the Muhimbili University for Ophthalmology Studies (MUHAS) in Dar Es Salaam by Study Grants, Professors, Instruments, Curriculum. [19] ECF is active in Tanzania since 2009 and has had an office in Tanzania since 2018 in Morogoro City.
ECF supports eye care in Vietnam since 1993. Initially, the foundation was involved in organising eye camps operated by Dutch ophthalmologists and nurses, helping to treat as many cataract patients as possible. ECF has established 2 vision centers in Vinh Long and Dong Thap, with the help of donors, increasing the total to 16 Vision Centers with the Foundation’s support across the Mekong Delta region. [20] The Vietnam office in Ho Chi Minh City opened in 2008.
Morogoro is a city located in the eastern part of Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometers west of Dar es Salaam. It serves as the capital of the Morogoro Region. Informally, it is referred to as Mji kasoro bahari, which translates to city short of an ocean/port.
Kilombero District is a district in Morogoro Region, south-western Tanzania.
Ifakara is a town in the Kilombero District, Morogoro Region, south central Tanzania. It is the headquarters of the Kilombero District administration and the main trading centre for Kilombero and Ulanga districts. The town is located near the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) line, at the edge of the Kilombero Valley, a vast swampland flooded by the mighty Kilombero River.
The Anglican Church of Tanzania is a province of the Anglican Communion based in Dodoma. It consists of 28 dioceses headed by their respective bishops. It seceded from the Province of East Africa in 1970, which it shared with Kenya. The current primate and archbishop is Maimbo Mndolwa, enthroned on 20 May 2018.
Light for the World is an international disability and development NGO aiming at an inclusive society. The organisation currently supports projects in Sub-Saharan Africa — including: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Sudan and Uganda dedicated to the restoration of eyesight, prevention of blindness, rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, inclusive education and promotion of their human rights.
APOPO is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation and US non-profit which trains southern giant pouched rats and technical survey dogs to detect landmines and tuberculosis. They call their trained animals 'HeroRATs' and 'HeroDOGs'.
The eye care system in Ghana can be said to be one in its infant or growing stages. Today there are less than 300 eye care professionals taking care of the eye needs of over 23 million Ghanaians.
The Organisation for the Prevention of Blindness is an international non-governmental organisation whose actions today focus exclusively on French-speaking countries in Africa. Their mission is to preserve and restore sight amongst some of the most under-privileged communities in the region. The OPC's principal actions concern blindness prevention, treatment and the elimination of blinding diseases, such as onchocerciasis, trachoma, glaucoma and cataracts as well as formal ophthalmological training.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, formerly called the Tilganga Eye Centre, in Nepal is the implementing body of the Nepal Eye Program, a non-profit, community based, non-government organization launched in 1992. It was founded in part by ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon Sanduk Ruit. The current facility was opened in 1994. The World Health Organization recognized Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology as a WHO Collaboration Centre of Ophthalmology in 2019. In Nepal, it is the second institute, and first institute in the field of ophthalmology to receive this designation. It provides various speciality services of Ophthalmology.
The Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) is an Australian nonprofit non-governmental organization with an international focus on eye care research and vision care delivery. Formerly the Institute for Eye Research, in 2010, it was renamed in recognition of co-founder and optometrist Professor Brien Holden OAM, a 1997 recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia for his contributions to eye care research.
Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital is a chain of eye specialty hospitals in India, headquartered at Chennai. Started by Jaiveer Agarwal with his wife Tahira Agarwal as an eye care centre in Chennai, it has grown to 180+ centres across India and 15 centres overseas.
Berega Mission Hospital is a 120-bed hospital situated in Berega, Morogoro region, central Tanzania, administered by the Anglican Church of Tanzania. The hospital, plus attached nursing school, serves an estimated 217,000 of the poorest residents of Tanzania and the hospital's current operation is reliant on charitable donations and volunteer work. Despite a high volume of critically unwell patients, many of them children, and its status as a referral centre for nearby community medical centres, Berega operates in a very low-resource environment.
Björn Stenvers is the CEO of the Eye Care Foundation. Before he was CEO at the Fonds de dotation de l’ICOM . He was the director of the foundation of the Official Museums of Amsterdam (2013-2016) which he also founded. Björn was the only Dutch lecturer at RANEPA (2015-2022).
Yetu Microfinance Bank Plc. (YETU) is a microfinance bank in Tanzania. It is the first microfinance institution to be listed in the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Yetu is a Swahili word which means Ours.
The Siamese–Vietnamese wars were a series of armed conflicts between the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom and Rattanakosin Kingdom and the various dynasties of Vietnam mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries. Several of the wars took place in modern-day Cambodia.
The Myanmar Eye Care Project (MECP) is focused on improving the delivery of critical eye care services to at-risk populations in Myanmar. Founded in 2002 and staffed entirely by ophthalmologists, it aims to end blindness in Myanmar. Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia and has the highest rate of blindness in the world. Working with partners and a network of providers, MECP operates clinics that provide routine eye care, acute treatment, and surgeries to Myanmar's poor rural populations. MECP also builds eye care infrastructure in rural communities, trains indigenous physicians and nursing staff, and provides equipment.
The Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a railway system, under construction and partially in operation, serving Tanzania and linking it to the neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, and through these to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of the East African Railway Master Plan. The new, electrified standard gauge railway is intended to replace the outdated metre-gauge railway system.
Malinyi District is a district of the Morogoro Region of Tanzania.
Poland–Tanzania relations are the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Poland and the United Republic of Tanzania. Both nations are members of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.