Strengthening Eye Health Care Services in Lao PDR 2016, also known as the Laos Project, is the first initiative organized by the APAOGP, with Dr James Muecke and Sight For All of Australia serving as the project coordinator. Additional organizations from Laos, Australia and elsewhere will also participate, including the Asia Pacific Council of Optometry, Fred Hollows Foundation and APAO national member Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO).
The Laos Project will involve many different elements, which together will serve to improve eye health care in the country. Education of eye health professionals, general practitioners and members of the community will raise overall awareness of eye health. Refraction training and curriculum development, particularly for ophthalmic subspecialties, will result in providers who are better equipped to serve their patients. There will be a follow-up evaluation of different elements of the Laos Project 9-12 months after the start date.
The Memorandum of Understanding between APAO and Sight For All was signed during the 31st APAO Congress in Chinese Taipei.
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Back row from left to right: Prof Hugh Taylor, Prof Charles McGhee, Dr Nitin Verma, Prof Rajvardhan Azad, Prof Ava Hossain, Prof Clement Tham. Front row from left to right: Dr James Muecke, Prof Dennis Lam. |