Eye health is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; vision needs to be reframed as a development issue There is extensive evidence showing that improving eye health contributes directly and indirectly to achieving many Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing poverty and improving work productivity, general and mental health, and education and equity. Improving eye health is a practical and cost-effective way of unlocking human potential. Eye health needs to be reframed as an enabling, cross-cutting issue within the sustainable development framework. Almost everyone will experience impaired vision or an eye condition during their lifetime and require eye care services; urgent action is necessary to meet the rapidly growing eye health need In 2020, 1•1 billion people had distance vision impairment or uncorrected presbyopia. By 2050, this figure is expected to rise to 1•8 billion. Most affected people live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) with avoidable causes of vision impairment. During the life course, most people will experience vision impairment, even if just the need for reading glasses. Because of unmet needs and an ageing global population, eye health is a major public health and sustainable development concern which warrants urgent political action. Eye health is an essential component of universal health coverage; it must be included in planning, resourcing, and delivery of health care Universal health coverage is not universal without affordable, high quality, equitable eye care. In line with the WHO World report on vision, we urge countries to consider eye care as an essential service within universal health coverage. To deliver comprehensive services including promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, eye care needs to be included in national strategic health plans and development policies, health financing structures, and health workforce planning. Coordinated intersectoral action is needed to systematically improve population eye health, also within healthy ageing initiatives, schools, and the workplace. Integration of eye health services with multiple relevant components of health service delivery and at all levels of the health system is of central importance.

IMPORTANCE Cataracts account for 40% of cases of blindness globally, with surgery the only treatment. OBJECTIVE To determine whether adding simulation-based cataract surgical training to conventional training results in improved acquisition of surgical skills among trainees. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A multicenter, investigator-masked, parallel-group, randomized clinical educational-intervention trial was conducted at 5 university hospital training institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2019, with a follow-up of 15 months. Fifty-two trainee ophthalmologists were assessed for eligibility (required no prior cataract surgery as primary surgeon); 50 were recruited and randomized. Those assessing outcomes of surgical competency were masked to group assignment. Analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis. INTERVENTIONS The intervention group received a 5-day simulation-based cataract surgical training course, in addition to standard surgical training. The control group received standard training only, without a placebo intervention; however, those in the control group received the intervention training after the initial 12-month follow-up period. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome measure was overall surgical competency at 3 months, which was assessed with a validated competency assessment rubric. Secondary outcomes included surgical competence at 1 year and quantity and outcomes (including visual acuity and posterior capsule rupture) of cataract surgical procedures performed during a 1-year period. RESULTS Among the 50 participants (26 women [52.0%]; mean [SD] age, 32.3 [4.6] years), 25 were randomized to the intervention group, and 25 were randomized to the control group, with 1 dropout. Forty-nine participants were included in the final intention-to-treat analysis. Baseline characteristics were balanced. The participants in the intervention group had higher scores at 3 months compared with the participants in the control group, after adjusting for baseline assessment rubric score. The participants in the intervention group were estimated to have scores 16.6 points (out of 40) higher (95% CI, 14.4-18.7; P < .001) at 3 months than the participants in the control group. The participants in the intervention group performed a mean of 21.5 cataract surgical procedures in the year after the training, while the participants in the control group performed a mean of 8.5 cataract surgical procedures (mean difference, 13.0; 95% CI, 3.9-22.2; P < .001). Posterior capsule rupture rates (an important complication) were 7.8% (42 of 537) for the intervention group and 26.6% (54 of 203) for the control group (difference, 18.8%; 95% CI, 12.3%-25.3%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This randomized clinical trial provides evidence that intense simulation-based cataract surgical education facilitates the rapid acquisition of surgical competence and maximizes patient safety.

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of Microbial Keratitis (MK) in Uganda. Methods: We prospectively recruited patients presenting with MK at two main eye units in Southern Uganda between December 2016 and March 2018. We collected information on clinical history and presentation, microbiology and 3-month outcomes. Poor vision was defined as vision < 6/60). Results: 313 individuals were enrolled. Median age was 47 years (range 18-96) and 174 (56%) were male. Median presentation time was 17 days from onset (IQR 8-32). Trauma was reported by 29% and use of Traditional Eye Medicine by 60%. Majority presented with severe infections (median infiltrate size 5.2 mm); 47% were blind in the affected eye (vision < 3/60). Microbiology was available from 270 cases: 62% were fungal, 7% mixed (bacterial and fungal), 7% bacterial and 24% no organism detected. At 3 months, 30% of the participants were blind in the affected eye, while 9% had lost their eye from the infection. Delayed presentation (overall p = .007) and prior use of Traditional Eye Medicine (aOR 1.58 [95% CI 1.04-2.42], p = .033) were responsible for poor presentation. Predictors of poor vision at 3 months were: baseline vision (aOR 2.98 [95%CI 2.12-4.19], p < .0001), infiltrate size (aOR 1.19 [95%CI 1.03-1.36], p < .020) and perforation at presentation (aOR 9.93 [95% CI 3.70-26.6], p < .0001). Conclusion: The most important outcome predictor was the state of the eye at presentation, facilitated by prior use of Traditional Eye Medicine and delayed presentation. In order to improve outcomes, we need effective early interventions.