Category: Latest News

Happy New Year from CCB

Holiday and new year’s greetings from the Optometry students (University Of Guyana and their programme head. The students and their guests ended 2013 with their Inaugural Annual Dinner Party. The event was held at the beautifully refurbished Guyana Pegasus Hotel. They were joined by: Representatives of faculty, partner eye clinics and eye departments; employees of CCB-Eye Care Guyana and well wishers. Approximately 120 persons came together for the very festive and fun-filled dinner, drinks music and socializing.

Caribbean Council for the Blind recognises Blindness Awareness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE St John’s Antigua – May 30, 2013: Almost three hundred million people around the world are blind or visually impaired with more than 180,000 living in the Anglophone Caribbean. Over the years, more and more persons with blindness or visual impairment are making significant contributions to their own development, the wellbeing of their families and the advancement of their communities and countries. In recognition of May as Blindness Awareness month in the Caribbean, we now introduce you to some persons from across the region who continue to triumph over their challenges. In our video available at the …

CCB congratulates Senator Floyd Morris

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Caribbean Council for the Blind congratulates Senator Floyd Morris on his appointment as President of the Senate  in Jamaica St John’s Antigua – May 20, 2013: The Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB)-Eye Care Caribbean, extends congratulations to the Honourable Senator Floyd Morris on his appointment as President of the Senate. His appointment came on the heels of the resignation of the Reverend Stanley Redwood, former President of the Senate. In expressing his delight at the appointment, Arvel Grant, Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Council For The Blind said “We note with interest that Senator Morris …

Glaucoma, the silent “killer of sight”

By Romila Boodram Every year, dozens of persons are diagnosed with glaucoma at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), some of whom eventually lose their vision. To emphasise its importance a week is dedicated annually to raising awareness about the disease. From today to next Saturday, World Glaucoma Week will be observed worldwide. Glaucoma is an eye disease in which the optic nerve (the nerve primarily responsible for sight) is damaged in a characteristic pattern. This can permanently damage vision in the affected eye (s) and lead to blindness if left untreated. During a recent interview with this publication, Dr. …

Ninety percent of Blindness caused by Poverty in Developing Countries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE St John’s Antigua & Barbuda,March 12, 2013: World Glaucoma Week is a reminder to every one,that Glaucoma is a major public health concern. Because the disease is a leading cause of permanent blindness among adults in their middle years and older, it poses a significant potential challenge to the well-being of affected individuals, their families’ communities and national economies. If findings from the Barbados Eye Study are extrapolated to the rest of the Caribbean four percent or close to 250,000 persons, in the English speaking Caribbean are living with Glaucoma and at least 11% of persons 60 …

Regional Governments urged to include Eye Care Services in Public Health Systems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF) St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda – October 10, 2012: With close to 180 thousand visually impaired persons and 60 thousand who are functionally blind in the English-speaking Caribbean, Governments across the region have been called on to include Eye Health Services in their Public Health System.In his message to mark World Sight Day, 2012, the Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB), Arvel Grant, noted that in an effort to reduce blindness and visual impairment, Caribbean citizens must be able to access basic eye health services on demand.

The Relay for Equality – Paralympics 2012

With the London Paralympics games set to begin on August 29, 2012, the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB) in partnership with Sightsavers, features athletes from Jamaica and around the globe, who will be representing their countries. At the top of their game, these athletes are showing what it means to take part and compete at the highest level. They’re also helping give persons with disabilities, a voice around the world, and raising awareness of howmarginalised groups need to be included. We invite you to share this video with family and friends in the campaign – the Relay4Equality. {youtube}qCaDDez8IsQ{/youtube}

CCB spearheads construction of state of the art Operating Theatre

Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB) spearheads construction of state of the art Operating Theatre at the Mandeville Regional Hospital’s Eye Clinic in Jamaica St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, June 13,2012: Patients attending the Eye Clinic at the Mandeville Regional Hospital in Jamaica stand to benefit from new surgical facilities  which are scheduled to be up and running by August of this year. Upon completion, the area will be transformed into a suite of Operating Theaters, supported by a range of advance clinical facilities. The establishment of the new state-of-the art Theaters will enable the Eye Department to perform up …

Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB) congratulates the Honourable Senator Kerryann Ifill on her appointment as President of the Senate in Barbados

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (pdf) St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, March 20, 2012: The Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB)-Eye Care Caribbean, extends congratulations to the Honourable Senator Kerryann Ifill on her appointment as President of the Senate on Monday, March 19th, 2012. Her appointment came on the heels of the resignation of Sir Branford M. Taitt, former President of the Senate. Ms. Ifill, ( B.Sc, MBA), 38, who is also the 2nd Vice-President of The Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB), has created history in that she is the first female and also the youngest person to occupy the position …