RAAB survey dissemination report meetings, Zambia

This was the second RAAB result dissemination report in the country, following the survey conducted in Southern Province in 2023. The UCT-CEHI Director, Dr Deon Minnies, who was the trainer of both provinces' the survey teams, presented the Copperbelt headline RAAB report to an audience comprised of senior national, provincial and local stakeholders in a packed conference hall in the Garden court Hotel in the bustling mining city, Kitwe. The stakeholders included the national eye care coordinator, Dr Phyllis Moonta, the provincial health director (Dr Winyuma), the Kitwe Teaching Hospital Medical superintendent ( Dr Chileshe Mboni) and the Kitwe Eye Hospital Medical Manager (Dr Tendai Mwale), along with many other representatives of key eye health service providers and their partners.

The event was covered by the national broadcaster ZNBC, and several other national and local media were represented. The programme included keynote addresses by the dignitaries, with entertaining interludes provided by a local cultural dance group. Several NGO partners (including CBM, Orbis and Lions) of the Kitwe eye care programme were present and made positive statements of intent to continue support of the programme. The country director of CBM, the funder of the RAAB survey, Dr Linda Kasonka, delivered an online speech from Lusaka.

The RAAB survey, which aims to determine the prevalence of blindness and visual impatient due to avoidable causes (such as untreated cataract and uncorrected refractive error) in people aged 50 years and above, took place from December 2021 to February 2022. A special focus was on determining the prevalence of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy (a preventable cause of blindness and visual impairment). Four examination teams enumerated and examined more than 4700 people, in 137 clusters selected randomly from a sampling framework representing the whole province. They were assisted by a cluster informer team, who provided information about cluster location, boundaries and contact people to enable the fieldwork. Additionally, a survey coordinator ( Nr Alexie Mpishie), the principal coordinators (Dr Mboni and Prof Ichengelo Muma) and the RAAB trainer (Dr Minnies) provided support and oversight during the data collection phase.

It was reported that the blindness prevention activities in Copperbelt Province are well-organised but need some refinement to address the burden of blindness and visual impairment due to avoidable causes, like cataract, glaucoma and refractive error. Dr Minnies said that, "intensified community-based follow-up and awareness-raising activities can contribute to improved service accessibility, coverage and quality of eye health services, especially in the rural parts of the province."  He outlined some recommendations to consider for implementation when strategizing for eye care service development for the province. "This may impact the eye health care landscape positively even on a national level", he said.

The report presentation was well received, with several notes of commendation for the excellent work done by the survey teams. However, it was acknowledged that there was work to be done, based on the findings and the recommendations posed by the report. A report handover ceremony followed, after which the programme closed.