World Sight Day 2025: Every Eye Counts Forum - Meeting Report from Mog | OPTO
Introduction
Eye care services in Somalia face significant challenges, including limited specialist coverage, uneven access to refraction and cataract surgery, and delayed diagnosis of glaucoma and retinal diseases. World Sight Day 2025 provided an opportunity to address these issues through a combination of public engagement and basic screening. The 'Every Eye Counts' forum focused on translating the 'Love Your Eyes' theme into actionable steps, linking community screening with service delivery priorities in a low-resource setting.
Community Screening Process and Outcomes
The screening process involved registration, brief history taking, visual acuity assessment (using pinhole when necessary), and anterior segment examination. Targeted posterior segment assessment, including direct ophthalmoscopy and dilated fundus examination, was conducted for participants with diabetes/hypertension, unexplained reduced vision, or clinical suspicion. Refraction and intraocular pressure measurement were performed when appropriate. Patients received counseling, ready-made spectacles when suitable, and referrals for specialist evaluation when needed.
A total of 628 community members participated in the free eye screening at Dr. Sumait Hospital in Mogadishu. The majority were female (59%), and 18% were school-age children and adolescents. All participants provided verbal consent, and no identifiable data was recorded. The most common conditions identified were uncorrected refractive errors (41%), suspected cataract (23%), allergic conjunctivitis (19%), and glaucoma risk (9%). Refraction revealed presbyopia/near-vision addition needs, mild myopia, and hyperopia. Cases with significant astigmatism or anisometropia were referred for custom spectacle services.
On-site interventions included dispensing ready-made spectacles for simple refractive errors (26% of participants) and protective sunglasses for outdoor workers (51 participants). Health education was delivered through group messages and individual counseling, reaching an estimated 480 attendees. No adverse events were reported during the screening.
Discussion and Panel Insights
The panel discussion, 'Every Eye Counts: Somalia's Ophthalmology Challenges & Practical Solutions', highlighted key issues and solutions. Dr. Mohamed Siyad emphasized the high prevalence of systemic diseases like diabetes and hypertension among Somali patients, leading to ocular complications. He advocated for community-based chronic disease prevention programs incorporating vision screening. Dr. Samia Hersi focused on pediatric eye health, stressing the importance of early detection and referral for refractive errors and squint, which can impact academic performance and psychosocial development.
Dr. Sadia Abdikarim addressed ocular trauma, a common cause of visual loss among laborers, street vendors, and children. She proposed low-cost protective eyewear, community awareness, and district hospital equipment with standard eye-trauma kits as preventive measures. The audience discussion emphasized decentralized eye care, patient education, and diagnostic capacity development.
Conclusion and Future Directions
The World Sight Day 2025 event at Dr. Sumait Hospital demonstrated the effectiveness of integrated outreach in Somalia. Future initiatives should focus on strengthening screening-to-care pathways by integrating eye checks into NCD clinics and schools, implementing clear referral protocols, and tracking referral completion for timely treatment of cataract, glaucoma, and diabetic eye disease.
Recommendations
The forum's recommendations included:
1. Integrating eye health into primary healthcare and NCD programs.
2. Establishing monthly cataract surgery days with standardized reporting.
3. Expanding school eye screening to 10,000 students in 2025-2026 with teacher-led awareness sessions.
4. Providing low-cost refraction and spectacle services at community clinics and mobile outreaches.
5. Creating a national referral database for glaucoma and diabetic eye disease management.
6. Encouraging data sharing and research collaboration between SIMAD University and Dr. Sumait Hospital research units.
