The International Agency of Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)

The IAPB Sub Saharan Africa region covers 46 different countries, with 5 distinct sub-regions (Southern Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, English West Africa and French West Africa). Each of the sub-regions is headed by a Co-Chair who work closely with the regional Chair. The IAPB regional programme coordinator runs the day to day activities within the organisation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 3.6 million persons are blind, 17.4 million have moderate and severe visual impairment, and 100 million have near vision impairment. The majority of these people are over 50 years old and many live in rural areas. One of the problems in assisting those in need of eye health care is the shortage of skilled eye health providers. What is worse is that the distribution of available eye health providers is skewed, with most of them stationed in the urban centres. Over the years, IAPB has focused on activities related to improving the human resource situation in Africa in addition to other objectives related to improving eye health in the region. These activities are done in close collaboration with IAPB members and regional member states with a strong emphasis on integrated people centred eye care.