Eye services in Papua New Guinea are set to receive more support after the PNG government signed a new agreement with the Fred Hollows Foundation of New Zealand.
Fred Hollows with patient Tran Van Giap. Photo: Fred Hollows Foundation/Michael Amendolia
PNG has the highest rate of blindness and vision impairment in the Pacific.
One in eighteen adults over 50-years-old are blind and women are more likely to be blind than men.
The agreement outlines commitments to ensure all people have access to high quality eye care, provided by a skilled local eye care workforce in a supportive healthcare environment.
The charity said it has operated in PNG over the last 11 years and trained 86 specialist eye care nurses to provide community care.
More needed to be done to address the burden of blindness in PNG, it said.