Committing to a More Equitable Ophthalmology

Although ESCRS has its roots in Europe, the Society has a global reach thanks to its educational initiatives and events, particularly the Annual Congress. The Society also supports several charitable projects outside Europe to make ophthalmic care and training more accessible and inclusive to people in need.

These goodwill efforts are led by the ESCRS Charity Committee, chaired by Filomena Ribeiro MD, PhD. The 10-member committee carefully scrutinises existing eye care programmes led by non-profit organisations and selects projects for funding based on their impact on global service delivery.

“We are focused on supporting initiatives and providing resources for ophthalmology, specifically in those geographical areas in great need of ophthalmic services,” Professor Ribeiro explained.

In Africa, ESCRS is providing wet lab instructors to the COECSA (College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa) 2025 Annual Congress. ESCRS is also supporting several other projects that aim to provide affordable and accessible eye care and train local eye surgeons:

• Eyes of the World in Mozambique,
• the Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach (BICO) in Malawi,
• the Wau Teaching Hospital in South Sudan, and
• the Community Eye Health Institute in Cape Town, South Africa.

In Asia, ESCRS contributed until recently to the work of Orbis in Myanmar to provide eye care for the refugees of the Rohingya Community and helps the Ridley Foundation in Nepal deliver cataract surgery to those living in rural or remote areas. ESCRS also assists the St John Eye Hospital in Palestine and continues to support war-related eye care projects in Ukraine with targeted, substantial donations of supplies and funds to eye clinics and ophthalmic departments. (ESCRS Managing Director Tom Ogilvie-Graham visits Ukraine regularly to ensure this support is fully coordinated and has maximum impact on the ground.)

By backing these projects, the Charity Committee enhances ESCRS’s role as a strong supporter of global initiatives to make ophthalmic care and training—especially training in cataract surgery—more accessible and inclusive worldwide.

“We decide on the level of funding we are going to provide these organisations, and we assess the impact of that funding, empowering really good projects,” said Mark Wevill, a member of the Charity Committee.

The committee is especially interested in supporting projects that prioritise eye care for women and vulnerable people, help eye surgeons reach rural and remote communities, and train eye care professionals to deliver high-quality ophthalmic services in underserved areas. According to Prof Ribeiro, the projected growth in cataract surgeries worldwide risks widening the existing gaps in eye care between wealthy and poor, urban and rural, and men and women. For this reason, the committee favours projects that provide training and education to improve outcomes for those less likely to receive care.

“Doctors go into medicine because we want to make the world a better place and give something back,” Dr Wevill said. “But sometimes the stress, pressure, and financial demands of our personal and professional lives causes us to forget this. Working with the Charity Committee reminds me of my vocation—because when we give and when we make a difference, we are reminded of that greater purpose.”

“As a scientific society we are really proud to be able to support these non-profit organisations and develop the field of ophthalmology worldwide, improving the outcomes of patients in all corners of the world,” Prof Ribeiro noted. “I think this makes ESCRS especially relevant because we benefit the field of ophthalmology by improving the quality and quantity of cataract surgeries.”

Filomena Ribeiro MD, PhD, FEBO is Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Hospital da Luz in Lisbon and Professor at the University of Lisbon. She is president of the ESCRS and chairperson of the ESCRS Charity Committee. filomenajribeiro@gmail.com.

Mark Wevill MBChB, FRCS (Edinburgh), FCS (SA) is a cataract and refractive surgeon in Birmingham, UK, and a surgical trainer at the University of Cape Town Community Eye Health Institute Surgical Skills Laboratory. mark.wevill@gmail.com.