CLOSE to 6% of Papua New Guineans over 50 live with blindness.
PNG Minister for Health, Elias Kapavore, said most cases could be treated and efforts by the New Zealand-based Fred Hollows Foundation would ensure better care of patients.
Papua New Guinea has one of the highest rates of avoidable blindness and vision impairment in the world – and the highest known rate in the Pacific. The Centre for Eye Health aims to significantly reduce this burden through specialist care, outreach, and training.
The New Zealand government has committed NZD 18.9 million to the project – the single largest health infrastructure investment it has made in Papua New Guinea to date.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid a special visit to the site of the Papua New Guinea Centre for Eye Health in Port Moresby, during his diplomatic visit this week.
He said the PNG Centre for Eye Health was a “very powerful symbol of what that partnership can achieve together.”
“The Centre will also help address gender disparities and access to eye care, which disproportionately affect women and girls. This investment is part of New Zealand’s broader and long-standing commitment to improving health in Papua New Guinea.”