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The article elaborates on school eye health programmes as it informs that 19 million children globally are living with vision impairment. Topics include health promotion and prevention and primary eye care encompassing school eye health as well a systematic approach to school eye health. Also mentioned are factors that contribute to a successful school eye health programme including the support of the local education authorities, the involvement of parents and government's financial support.

The author recommends hiring a good non-clinical program manager to handle the administrative tasks vital to a well-run ophthalmology department, explaining that doing so would leave the ophthalmologist in charge of the eye care unit to focus on patient care. Among the responsibilities of the manager of an eye care program include liaising with donors, organizing community outreach activities, making regular inventory reports of equipment and supplies, and overseeing human resource issues. INSET: Case study: Madagascar.

The article proposes a team-based model for providing refractive error care to vision-impaired patients at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, explaining that a team approach could optimize staff experience by promoting better eye care professionals and key support staff. It also describes a flexible training program established by the Regional School of Optometry in Malawi that aims to equip optometrists with the necessary skills to provide refractive services in the public sector. INSET: Professional competition.

The article discusses the factors involved in building an effective eye care team in public and private hospital settings amid employee retention concern at health care institutions. It explains that eye care service teams require the right mix of ophthalmologists, ophthalmic assistants, nurses, and support staff. It also suggests that each team member must have a clear understanding of their job descriptions so that they can communicate and work well with each other.

The article presents a case study on the strategy which contributes to the growth and success of the eye clinic Clinica Oftalmologica Divino Nino Jesus (DNJ) in Peru. It chronicles the history of the eye clinic and its initiative of implementing change to achieve sustainability. It also commends the eye clinic's leadership commitment and technique of offering a choice of products and services on perceived value, resulting to the increase of its income. INSETS: Overcoming resistance to change;Getting the price right.

The article presents a case study on the strategy of the Kitale Eye Unit in Kitali District Hospital which resulted to its sustainable eye care in Kenya. It highlights the eye center's technique of utilizing various methods to maximize its available staff through training, target setting, and motivation. It also reveals the center's initiative of increasing its income while maintaining the quality of its eye services.

The author discusses strategies adopted by several eye care programmes and institutions in African countries despite their lack of funding. He cites his experience in working with government, church-run, and privately-owned institutions in such areas, and reveals two key principles they used to reduce the costs of their operation. The author also shares the measures taken by such programs and institutions to increase income and diversify funding resources.

The article instructs about the necessary parts and services of an eye clinic. Further, it describes the difficulties that patients usually encounter in a clinic. In addition, it highlights the important points those are required to make a patient- friendly environment in a clinic. In this regard, it introduces- reception to give full information about clinic services, triage to quickly assess emergency patients and physical environment which makes access easy for eye patients and etc. INSET: The case for a walk-in clinic.

The author asserts that vision practitioners must be aware of other services that may help people with low vision and refer them accordingly. People with low vision may need clinical care, refraction and rehabilitation support. She notes the importance of communicating with the person, the family and with colleagues in other services about the required low vision care. She also emphasizes the need to follow up on whether the patient has received the needed clinical and refractive error care.

The article focuses on the needs to construct a friendly eye unit for children. It states that children have different needs compare to young adults and parents and carers need to pay more attention on their eye care environment. It mentions that an eye unit must provide a play area for children with images and provide a shorter waiting times since children are easily irritated and bored. Meanwhile, it states that operating theatre where examinations are conducted must provide equipped technological facilities. It also advises to provide child-friendly staff to gain child's trusts.

The article focuses on corneal grafting or transplantation of infected cornea, with details on its prognoses, indications, outcomes, and complications. It cites that epithelium, stroma, and endothelium of the cornea will be grafted to the patient's eye. It notes that people having diseases in the cornea that impairs their vision indicates corneal graft. It explains that cornea transplantation needs more postoperative care compared to the extraction of the cataract because eye drops are frequently required. It discusses that graft rejection and infectious keratitis are among the main causes of graft failure in South India and East Africa. It advises the immediate removal of loose sutures to reduce the risk of microbial keratitis.

The article focuses on the requirement of human resources in optometry in comparison to the present refractionists for the detection of uncorrected refractive error (URE) in medical services.

The article features the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) which was started by Professor Barrie Jones in 1980. Topics discussed include ICEH's history, ICEH's starting to publish the "Community Eye Health Journal" in 1988 and ICEH becoming part of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in London, England in 2002. Also mentioned are ICEH's objectives, including to provide evidence of the impact of visual loss and eye diseases and to undertake research and reviews.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses the clinical challenges, developments in the prevention of blindness and the health system.

This section enumerates several courses, fellowships, and training modules on community eye care offered by various institutions and organizations around the world as of 2014, such as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Great Britain, the Aravind Eye Care System in India, and the Lions Medical Training Center in Nairobi, Kenya. It also cites several studies published in the "Community Eye Health Journal," (CEHJ) and the "Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology."

The author describes the core tasks carried about by ophthalmic clinical officers (OCOs) practicing in Uganda and the key institutional challenges they encounter in providing eye care services to rural communities in need. He notes that OCOs are represented by the National Association of Ophthalmic Clinical Officers and Cataract Surgeons (NAOCOCS), which has recommended that the OCO training curriculum should be updated and eye care data collection throughout Uganda must be improved.

The article highlights the training, certification, and accreditation programs established by various regional and global eye health agencies such as the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the International Joint Commission of Allied Health Care of Ophthalmology (IJCAHCO). It emphasizes that these agencies have increasingly endorsed a team-based approach in order to improve the access of people around the world to cost-effective, patient-focused eye care services. INSET: Strategies for team training.

A case study is presented focusing on the state of ophthalmic nursing services in Botswana. It observes that as of June 2014, the majority of ophthalmic nurses in the Botswana are practicing in urban areas because of the relative lack of financial incentives available in rural communities. It adds that Botswana's Ministry of Health has increased its efforts to offer more professional development opportunities for nurses and to integrate ophthalmic services within the mainstream health system.

This section offers tips on building a well-motivated eye care team from two ophthalmologists practicing in the Kwale and Kitale district hospitals in Kenya. Hillary Rono from the Kitale District Hospital shares that the hospital's eye unit personnel undergoes regular training in surgical and clinical skills through mentorships and attachments at other institutions. Helen Roberts from the Kwale District Eye Center, however, reveals that teamwork is an integral aspect of the hospital's policy.

The article offers world news briefs related to eye care. A study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) reveals that an investment of $2.20 per person per year in low-and middle-income nations can eliminate avoidable blindness and impairment. The Ophthalmological Society of South Africa will hold its 44th National Congress in Drakensberg, South Africa on March 13-16, 2014. The German Jordanian University offers optometrists the Professional Diploma in Vision Rehabilitation.

The article offers tips on how to avoid fungus from growing on the surfaces of optical components. It recommends steps in preventing fungal growth by drying the optical instruments and keeping them in a dry place with relative humidity of less than 65 percent. It also proposes the use of optical fungicide solutions to effectively remove fungus from lenses and other optical instruments.

The article offers tips for eye care managers on how to set up accounting and financial management measures to effectively run their projects and institutions. It provides definition of the most common accounting terms, and suggests the advantage of developing systems and standard procedures and translate them into a software for easier and safer data entry. It also recommends several resources that offer articles, courses and tutorials about financial management and accountability. INSET: Accounting challenges in donor-funded projects.

The article offers information on several procurement support and resources for eye care programs and institutions worldwide. It provides an overview of the services and products offered by SightReach Surgical, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) Standard List, and the Global Resource Centre (GRC) which was established by the Brien Holden Vision Institute. It also mentions the websites of the said resources.

The article focuses on the factors that influence costs and resources associated in eye care services. It provides a comparison of the costs in involved in eye care services between hospitals and eye centers. It also discusses two different scenarios of a patient, requiring a cataract surgery, which illustrate the importance of maintaining well-trained people and providing good quality of care to save costs for patients.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various topics discussed within the issue including neglected tropical diseases and their affected communities, as well as measures to control the spread of the diseases.

The article focuses on the community-based rehabilitation (CBR) working for the benefit of eye care services. It is mentioned that when eye care services works in collaboration with CBR ensures the better identification of the visual impairments so as to organize the appropriate follow-up visits and better treatments. It also mentions the actions taken in the areas including health, education, and livelihood supported by CBR.

A quiz concerning the health concepts by International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the Diagnose is presented. INSET: Diagnose This quiz.

The article discusses intellectual disability defined by World Health Organization (WHO) as 'a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information and to learn and apply new skills'. The intellectually disabled often have higher rate of visual impairment and are stigmatized. Outreach and community services are required and a few cost-effective changes can help the intellectually disabled including easy communication, conducive environment, and flexible hours of appointment.

The article discusses the crucial role that disabled people's organizations (DPOs) play in providing a valuable link for eye care workers. DPOs are able to connect individuals with vision loss to other DPO members and community organizations that support people with disabilities. Several ways in which DPOs can help support eye clinics by providing practical advice on making clinics more accessible as well as patients by advocating for them and training them in self-sufficiency are included.

The article provides recommendations for the inclusion of people with disabilities in eye care which includes identifying internal and external barriers to access, based on gender and age consider additional needs, and people with disabilities can be employed to work in eye clinics. INSET: Improving access for women and girls with disabilities.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including tips for eye care workers, meaning of inclusion, participation and accessibility, and community-based rehabilitation and disabled persons.

The article discusses the absence of ophthalmologists trained in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and national public awareness programmes about the disease in most African nations which require governmental involvement.

The article discusses the significance of quality standards for open-angle glaucoma in Great Britain. It notes that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidelines intended to set standards for practice in the National Health Service (NHS). It explains that standards and guidelines must be based on high quality evidence and do give some ideas about eye care to make enormous difference in preventing the disease.

The article provides suggestions on how to check and replace blown fuses in biomedical equipments. Fuses play an important safety role in preventing damage to equipment due to electrical overloading, thereby reducing the risk of electrical shock to patients and staff. It is suggested that one must always disconnect equipment from electrical power before removing a fuse, always replace a fuse with an identical type, and keep enough stock of the fuses used in clinic or hospital. INSET: More about fuses.

The article presents continuing professional development quiz including multiple True/False question by the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and a picture quiz titled Diagnose this Quiz.

The article offers suggestions for further reading including Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey at www.uniteforsight.org/global-healthuniversity/survey-methodologies, Equipment for Eye Care from the Community Eye Health Journal Vol. 23 No. 73, and Aravind Eye Care Systems India at www.accessh.org/publication/Article/14.

The article discusses the findings of a recent reader survey conducted by the Community Eye Health Journal. Most of the readers of the journal are from Africa and Southeast Asia, with ophthalmic nurses representing 33 percent of readers. The positive impact of the journal was evident from 91 percent of respondents using the journal to teach or educate others, including patients and the community, and 80 percent finding something in the journal that led them to change their clinical practice.

The author reflects on success of an eye clinic is through satisfied patients who talk to others in the community, promote our clinic to others, and encourage those who are fearful to come for treatment and improving by keeping patients in mind. She states that treating staff with respect, and rewarding them for providing patient-centred care, creates a positive and caring environment for everyone, including patients. She informs that the issue will show what patients think about the clinic.

In this article Helen Roberts presents a case study of rural Kenya, kwale district were ten thousand people who were blind, thirty thousand with low vision, and about the same number with significant eye disease in the district. They began their work in kwale district eighteen years ago after a feasibility study. When people requested a safe means of getting from the main road to the eye center, they purchased a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled taxi) to provide a free shuttle service.

The article describes how Nguyen Thi Hien who lives in the Que Phong community located in Quang Nam province in Viet Nam has provided eye care to the members of her local community for more than thirty years.

The article provides some suggestion for improving patients experience in eye care setting. Quality of clinical services offered, making small changes to how services are delivered can have a big impact on how patients feel about their experience and come for the eye care they need. It is suggested that the staff of the clinic should be looked after and well trained, ensure that patients do not have to spend longer waiting hours, explain all costing related eye care services offered clearly.

The article offers information on the 9th General Assembly (GA) of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to be held in Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, India, from 17-20 September 2012.