Eye health services in Mombasa, Nakuru and Kakamega counties are being expanded through the CBM Vision Impact Scale-Up Project Phase Two and The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Mombasa Eye Health Project.
The projects will expand early screening, referral, treatment and follow-up services within communities and schools, supporting Kenya’s efforts to address preventable visual impairment and bring specialised care closer to those who need it.
Speaking during the launch, Director of Curative and Nursing Services Dr Andrew Toro said approximately 200,000 Kenyans are blind, while 1.5 million live with significant visual impairment.
Up to 80 per cent of visual impairment is preventable or treatable, while an estimated 9.6 million people are affected by uncorrected refractive errors.
Dr Toro said the initiatives support Universal Health Coverage and the National Eye Health Strategic Plan by strengthening the health workforce, improving infrastructure and integrating eye health services into primary healthcare facilities, schools and communities.
How Kenya is strengthening healthcare referral pathways
He said the Ministry is establishing 315 Primary Care Networks across the 47 counties and finalising Kenya’s first National Healthcare Referral Policy. These measures will strengthen referral pathways from community and school screening to specialised treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up care.
The Ministry has also equipped and digitised 107,831 Community Health Promoters to support early detection, health education and referral at the household level. Digital tools such as PEEK Vision will help track patients from screening to treatment and post-treatment follow-up.
Dr Toro called upon county governments to allocate resources for eye, ear and hearing care commodities, equipment maintenance and workforce needs through their development plans and annual budgets.
CBM Director for Inclusive Health Dr Babar Qureshi was the Chief Guest.
Also present were representatives of CBM, The Fred Hollows Foundation, the Ministry of Education, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, the Kenya Institute of Special Education, COG, county governments, development and implementing partners, and healthcare workers.
