Category: Latest News

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. …

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.

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 …

In recognition of May as Child’s Month , the Caribbean Council for the Blind – Eye Care Caribbean will present features on some very special children. From St Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica stay tuned to our website and join us on Facebook where we will share with you their stories.

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 …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, March 12th, 2012: An appeal has been made for Caribbean Governments to make eye health services affordable to the bottom fifty (50%) of their populations. In a message to mark World Glaucoma Week, the Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB), Arvel Grant, noted that in the wake of the current global financial crisis, regional governments must give those most at risk access to eye health services within the public sector. “Since poverty and under development are leading contributors to blindness and visual impairment, the current global financial …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE St John’s Antigua and Barbuda – March 7, 2012:  President of the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB), Lola Marson, has called on Governments across the Caribbean to place more emphasis on highlighting the plight of  women who are blind and visually impaired . In an interview to mark International Women’s Day, the CCB President, who is also the Executive Director of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, appealed to groups representing the disabled to increase their visibility. “I don’t think that groups representing persons who are disabled are doing enough advocacy work. In times gone by …

The Caribbean Council for the Blind/ Eye Care Caribbean and Sightsavers with support from their international and regional partners and the European Commission, hosted a two day meeting at the Hyatt Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad on the 1st and 2nd of December, 2011. The meeting focused on VISION 2020: THE RIGHT TO SIGHT, the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, and gave persons involved in eye health from across the region an opportunity to learn, share and network, leading to a more cohesive, regional approach to reducing the prevalence of blindness in the Caribbean.