In This Issue
EMR-IAPB News
What is PBU?
The Prevention of Blindness Union (PBU) is an International union of Nongovernmental Development
Organizations working in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and Africa. It has the following reputable
international NGOs and bodies as members:
- IMPACT-EMR Saudi Arabia
- AlBasar International Foundation Saudi Arabia
- Al Noor Foundation Egypt
- Nadi AlBassar Tunisia
- CHEF International Pakistan
- Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND)
- Islamic Development Bank,(Ex-Officio member)
- Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology - MEACO
- WHO EMR. (Ex–Officio member)
The union is under leadership of HRH Prince Abdulaziz Ahmad Al Saud.
The Vision of PBU is to facilitate the provision of comprehensive eye care to all segments
of the society based on the principles of equity and justice.
The Mission of the union is to support, coordinate, collaborate and advocate activities in the
field of comprehensive eye care (promotion, preventive, curative and rehabilitation) with all stakeholders (such as
Governments, Non-Governmental Development Organizations (NGDO), regional and international organizations, professional
bodies and institutions) in the EMR and Africa.
For more information on PBU please visit:
www.pbunion.org
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Dear Friends,
The Prevention of Blindness Union (PBU) –a conglomerate of international non- governmental and developmental
organizations working on eye care in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and Africa wishes to announce the
launching of its quarterly newsletter.
The newsletter will highlight the activities of the union and also
that of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, EMR. It will be distributed to all
stakeholders involved in eye care in the EMR, Africa regions and elsewhere.
We hope you will find this newsletter informative and useful.
PBUnion
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PBU Board Member, Dr Adel AlRushood, awarded the GOH Naumann Award for Leadership and Global Eye Care
The International Council of Ophthalmology has recently awarded Dr. Adel AlRushood with the GOH Naumann Award for
Leadership and Global Eye Care. The GOH Naumann Award is awarded annually to an ophthalmologist who has made a
significant contribution to global eye care in the community, in an effort to promote educational programs and
establish service models for other societies.
The first project in this partnership will be conducted in collaboration with East Africa College of Ophthalmology
(EACO) to upgrade training facilities and resources for residency training in ophthalmology at Muhimbili University
of Health Sciences, Tanzania. This project fits into the strategic interest of PBU in strengthening the training
and practice of ophthalmology in Africa.
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PBU Board Member, Dr Ahmed Trabelsi awarded AAO International Blindness Prevention Award
Dr Ahmed Trabelsi, President of Nadi AlBassar and a board member of PBU has been honored with the American Academy
of Ophthalmology (AAO) International Blindness Prevention Award. The award is presented at the Academy's Annual
Meeting each fall. The International Blindness Prevention Award, established in 1992, honors individuals who
have made significant contributions to the prevention of blindness or restoration of sight worldwide. PBU would
like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Trabelsi on this great achievement.
The first project in this partnership will be conducted in collaboration with East Africa College of Ophthalmology
(EACO) to upgrade training facilities and resources for residency training in ophthalmology at Muhimbili University
of Health Sciences, Tanzania. This project fits into the strategic interest of PBU in strengthening the training
and practice of ophthalmology in Africa.
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PBU enters into partnership with Sightsavers International
The Prevention of Blindness Union (PBU) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UK-based international
NGO - Sightsavers International (SSI). The MOU is for partnership and cooperation in supporting eye care programs in
Africa. It will involve advocacy, fund-raising, policy dialogue, exchange of expertise and co-implementation of eye
care activities. The MOU was signed during the recent IAPB board of Trustees meeting in Cairo on 17 March 2010. The
Chairman of PBU HRH Abdulaziz Ahmad Al Saud signed on behalf of the union, while CEO SSI Caroline Harper signed on
behalf of SSI.
The first project in this partnership will be conducted in collaboration with East Africa College of Ophthalmology
(EACO) to upgrade training facilities and resources for residency training in ophthalmology at Muhimbili University
of Health Sciences, Tanzania. This project fits into the strategic interest of PBU in strengthening the training and
practice of ophthalmology in Africa.
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4th PBU meeting, Riyadh, 01 March 2010
The Prevention of Blindness Union held its fourth board meeting on 01 March 2010, at the Marriot Hotel Riyadh, KSA.
It was Chaired by HRH Abdulaziz Ahmad Abdulaziz Al Saud, and attended by all founding partners. The board had a full
agenda, it ratified decisions made in the previous meeting including the Strategic and Operational plans, proposed
5-year budget and activities for the first year of operation. The meeting also discussed collaborative and
fundraising activities that the PBU intends to initiate and participate in. The board approved the newly designed
logo, website and a quarterly electronic newsletter.
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Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme in Jordan
The Prevention of blindness Union (PBU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health Jordan will be implementing a
diabetic retinopathy screening programme in Northern Jordan.
The Project is one of the ‘Seeing is Believing’ (SiB) project of the Standard Chartered Bank, to which the bank is
committing close to 1 million dollars over 5 years. The Ministry of Health Jordan with its good networks of health
facilities and human resources is the implementing partner. The project plans to provide a comprehensive diabetic
retinopathy care to all patients with Diabetic mellitus in the region. This will include health education, promotion,
screening, treatment and rehabilitative services.
A PBU delegation had visited Jordan in January 2010 to assess resources for the project and seek commitment of the
Jordanian government in this project. The delegation met with major stakeholders including the Jordanian Minister
of Health.
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EMR-IAPB News: |
RAAB Training Workshop held in Syria
The EMR-IAPB in collaboration with the Syrian Ministry of Health had organized a RAAB training workshop for
ophthalmologists from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The workshop was held at the Eye Specialist Hospital Damascus from 1 - 4 May. It was attended by 15 ophthalmologists
from the 3 countries including National coordinators for the prevention of blindness.
The opening ceremony of the workshop was attended by the Syrian Minister of Health - Dr Riad Said, the Executive
Co-Chair EMR-IAPB - Dr Abdulaziz AlRajhi and the Co-Chair EMR-IAPB – Dr. Mohammed Alamuddin.
The four day workshop was facilitated by RAAB trainers-Dr M Mansur Rabiu from the EMR-IAPB office, Saudi Arabia and
Dr. M. Zahid Jadoon from Pakistani Institute of Community Ophthalmology (PICO) Pakistan.
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EMR-IAPB hosted the Board of Trustees Meeting of IAPB in Cairo
The Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (EMR-IAPB)
with the support of IMPACT–EMR, a regional NGO, hosted the committees and board of trustees meetings of
IAPB at the Intercontinental Hotel City Stars Cairo, Egypt from 15 - 18 March 2010.
The first two days were dedicated to committees meetings while the board meeting was held in the last two days.
The opening ceremony of the board meeting was attended by the Assistant Director General of WHO Dr Ala Alwan
and a representative of the WHO-EMRO Regional Director.
The Chair EMR-IAPB HRH Abdulaziz Ahmad Abdulaziz Al Saud hosted a dinner for the board members during which
the Chairman of the IAPB Board Mr Christian Garms honored the Chair EMR-IAPB with a gift for his tremendous
support to IAPB and eye care in general.
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School Eye Health Guidelines for EMR available
The Guidelines for School Eye Health for Eastern Mediterranean Region is now available free online. The guidelines
address core issues on which programmes and countries worldwide can further develop and adapt according to their
own environment and circumstances.
The guidelines were developed by experts in Refractive Errors and Low Vision, Child Eye Health, Health Systems
Development, Community Ophthalmology, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Programme Managers, National Coordinators and
Social Health Managers.
It was developed with the support of IMPACT-EMR, PBU and EMR-IAPB.
Click here to download a copy.
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Recommendations for Public Health Control of Glaucoma in the EMR
The IMPACT-EMR, a partner organization of PBU and EMR-IAPB, in conjunction with WHO–EMRO had developed recommendations
for the public health control of Glaucoma in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).
The recommendations were a product of 3 days workshop on Glaucoma public health control strategies in EMR. The workshop
sponsored by IMPACT-EMR was held at the WHO EMRO office Cairo, Egypt from 14- 16 December 2009. Participants included
international and regional experts in Glaucoma, public health ophthalmology, representatives of WHO EMRO, international
and local NGOs in region, national coordinators for prevention of blindness from EMR, representatives of some tertiary
institutions etc.
You can read the report of the workshop here.
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RAAB Training Workshop conducted in Libya
The WHO-EMR with the support of Ministry of health Libya and IMPACT EMR organized a RAAB training workshop in Tripoli
Libya from 18 - 27 December 2009. The workshop facilitated by Dr. Mansur Rabiu of IMPACT-EMR and Dr. Abdulhanan
Choudhury of WHO-EMRO, was held at the National Eye Hospital Tripoli, with field visits to rural districts. It was
attended by 7 ophthalmologists and 4 nurses. The purpose of the training was for the team to conduct RAAB survey
in the country.
Recently the trained team has just completed the RAAB survey across the four regions of the country.
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