First Community Eye Care Unit Targets January Opening as Government Eyes Dedicated Hospital

Antigua and Barbuda’s first Primary Eye Care Unit has been unveiled at the Gray’s Green Community Centre, as Health Minister Michael Joseph outlined the government’s intention to develop a dedicated eye hospital within the next five years.

The facility has held a soft opening but is not yet receiving the general public. According to the Ministry of Health, additional equipment must be installed and operational arrangements completed before services are expected to begin in January 2027.

The unit is the first of several planned across the country, aimed at bringing professional eye care closer to residents through the primary healthcare system.

“These centres will help us prevent avoidable vision loss and detect visual impairments earlier by expanding access to screening, assessing vision needs and delivering professional eye care within our communities,” Minister Joseph said.

The units are intended to provide screening, assess patients’ vision needs and strengthen referrals and follow-up care, helping people access appropriate treatment earlier.

Joseph said the community facilities form part of a broader vision for eye care, which includes establishing a dedicated eye hospital in Antigua and Barbuda within five years.

The occasion also recognised four Antiguan and Barbudan nurses who returned after completing specialised eye-care training in India. Their training is intended to strengthen the local expertise needed to deliver services through the new programme.

Permanent Secretary Stacey Gregg described the development as an important advancement in healthcare accessibility.

Ambassador Aubrey Webson, who attended the opening, said the programme represents practical progress towards eliminating preventable blindness and making Antigua and Barbuda a blindness-free zone.

Webson, who is visually impaired, was recognised for proposing the programme and helping advance the initiative.

Cure Blindness Project Chief Executive Officer K-T Overbey also welcomed the organisation’s involvement in supporting the programme.

The Ministry is working with the Cure Blindness Project, RestoringVision, VisionSpring and the Lavelle Fund for the Blind to expand services and strengthen local capacity.

Through the Prime Ministerial Vision Initiative, Antigua and Barbuda has also secured 25,000 reading glasses from RestoringVision to help address presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision.

The glasses complement the wider effort to improve access to eye care, identify vision problems earlier and reduce preventable visual impairment.