Access to eye health services is important for people of all ages. From children to adults, good vision helps us carry out our day-to-day tasks such as reading, cooking and driving. By tackling avoidable blindness and treating visual impairment, ophthalmologists and eye health experts enable children to learn and adults to earn.
However, the availability of eye health services has starkly varied across and within countries. For instance, in Lilongwe, Malawi, where I work, eye health services remain inaccessible for remote communities, women and people with disabilities.
Eye health is saturated with gender inequality. Not only are women more likely than men to be blind or have a visual impairment, but they face additional barriers to access health services that may help treat them. This lack of access to eye health services is a result of several factors including cost, decision-making power, social and cultural norms, traditional childcare roles, and lack of visible female health professionals.
Social customs can inhibit women from getting health care. For example, in some cultures in Malawi women need to ask for permission from a male relative before going to the hospital.
In addition, money is a huge barrier for a lot of women. Hospitals offering services such as cataract surgeries are few and far between in Malawi. Most women, often living in remote villages, depend on their husbands’ money to be able to travel to the hospital. This prevents them from easy and fast access to treatment for eye-related issues.
Information and knowledge are also key. Many women simply aren’t aware of their right to avail treatments for eye-related issues.
When women don't come for treatment, there is an impact on their families. If a person loses their sight, they will often, alongside it, lose their independence. Losing vision makes it harder to take care of children and to work. If they are unable to work, they become poorer and in turn, more dependent on their husband. Inequitable access to eye health, therefore, has a huge socio-economic impact on families, especially in the rural population.
It’s not only a human right, but it is in everyone’s interest that women are able to get glasses, to have operations for conditions like cataracts and get the treatment they need for blinding diseases such as trachoma.
The inclusive eye health project that I am working on, alongside international development organisation, Sightsavers, aims to break down these barriers and make eye heath more equitable.
The project, funded by the UK Government through UK Aid Match, focuses on women and people with disabilities. Within the project, we were given training on gender equality and on disability. My colleagues and I were taught about all the challenges I mention above, and more, which affect how women access health care
The results of the Sightsavers’ project can be widely felt on the ground, with an increase in the number of women coming to the hospital in Lilongwe for treatment for eye conditions. It makes me so happy to be able to play a part in restoring the vision of thousands of women in my community, and I am thankful for the opportunity to make such a big difference in in people’s lives.
While I am happy this work is changing the status quo for women and restoring their sight, more needs to be done to empower women and provide their basic right to health care. I will not rest until I see the women of my community in an equitable position to men.