(MENAFNEditorial) DUBLIN Ireland September 25 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Minister for Development Trade Promotion and North South Co-operation Seán Sherlock TD today opened 'A Celebration of Vision' at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) to mark the achievements of the Mozambique Eye-care Project.
Established with €1.5 million in Irish Aid funding the project includes a training programme for optometrists and an eye-care service in Mozambique both of which are designed to reduce preventable blindness and tackle poverty. It is run by the Dublin Institute of Technology and the University of Ulster in close collaboration with universities in Mozambique and South Africa.
Preventable blindness is a major contributor to poverty in the developing world and those affected are far less likely to access education or employment said Minister Sherlock who described the Mozambique Eye-care Project as a sustainable solution to avoidable blindness.
'In just over five years 15 optometrists have graduated through the Mozambique Eye Care Project doubling the number of eye care personnel serving the entire country. Between 20 and 30 new optometrists will graduate in Mozambique annually making this programme both effective and truly sustainable.
'Their ambitious plan to have a university faculty team in Mozambique and 170 fully-qualified optometrists to deliver education eye-care and glasses to millions of visually impaired people in Mozambique by 2020 is truly commendable.
'Blindness visual impairment and the lack of eye-care services are too often the result of social economic and developmental challenges. The Mozambique Eye-care Project stands out as an initiative which can break this chain. I congratulate DIT and all of the partners in Mozambique on the success of the project.'
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