Indigenous eye health: time for government to put money up

Expansion of non-clinical support services is crucial if Australia is to meet its 2025 target to eliminate avoidable blindness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, says a leading ophthalmologist.

Professor Hugh Taylor AC, Harold Mitchell Chair of Indigenous Eye Health at the University of Melbourne, said great progress had been made in tackling the disproportionately high rates of vision impairment and blindness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, but more funding for non-clinical support services was urgently needed.

“The [non-clinical support] programs already exist, but they are not adequately funded to meet the care needs,” Professor Taylor said. “Vision 2020 Australia, our group – the Indigenous Eye Health Unit – and the other players have been asking government for years for adequate funding for these programs to meet the need.”

Read the full article on the InsightPlus website