MUAS KNUST Low vision project

PROJECT SUMMARY
Low vision remains a global concern with most persons with visual impairment living in developing countries where resources are generally inadequate. Low vision rehabilitation services enhance functional vision with beneficial effects for persons with varying degrees of visual impairment. The project aims to improve existing teaching of low vision module and establish a low vision service at the Department of Optometry and Visual Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. This project draws on our expertise and years of experience in providing training to eye care professionals. The proposed project comprises of (1) three-day international workshop on low vision practice; (2) establishment of low vision clinic at the Department of Optometry and Visual Science; (3) international exchange program for staff and students; (4) Population-Based Study of Visual Impairment. The proposed project will directly support over 150 students and staff from Germany and Africa, and indirectly support an additional 150-200 African researchers through their participation in the workshop, which will be directly supported by the Department of Optometry and Visual Science, KNUST, and the Munich Center for Applied Vision Science.

BACKGROUND
The burden of vision impairment and/or low vision is a public health concern given its negative repercussions on victims' quality of life and productivity [1-3]. Globally, an estimated forty-three million are blind, 295 million have moderate to severe visual impairment (MSVI), and about 258 million have mild visual impairments [4]. Over four million people live in blindness in sub-Saharan Africa, and approximately seventeen million suffer from MSVI[5]. Although longitudinal data on vision impairment is lacking in Ghana, evidence from cross-sectional and retrospective studies reported a prevalence of vision impairment ranging from 0.10% to 99%[6-8]. 
Furthermore, the etiology of vision loss is sparse; however, cataracts, uncorrected refractive errors, and retinal degenerative diseases remain the primary insults to visual impairment[5, 9, 10]. The initiation of pragmatic measures, notably VISION 2020: The Right to Sight by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), has yielded a decline in the burden of vision impairment or vision loss worldwide[11, 12]. The availability of low vision treatment services is essential to optimize vision in the visually impaired[13, 14]. 
Concurrently, vision rehabilitation services are critical in managing ensuing psychological complications and improving emotional well-being [15, 16]. 
The scope of optometric practice in Ghana encompasses the management of low-vision patients. Unequivocally, the curriculum of optometry education in Ghana places more emphasis on low vision as compared to other eye care providers in the country. 
Nonetheless, the lack of low vision aids and absence of referral centers constrain practicing optometrists in their routine management of low vision, and consequently about two-thirds of patients seeking low vision services are often deprived[17]. 
Given the dearth in epidemiological data and the unsatisfactory low vision treatment services across the country, the proposed project seeks to address the existing gap by (i) providing specialist low vision training to indigenous practicing optometrists, and (ii) conducting a longitudinal study to provide data to support the evidence-based practice of low vision in Ghana. In addition, the project will serve as a platform to facilitate easy accessibility to low vision assessment and assistive devices and further increase low vision service provision by optometrists in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. The findings from this project will inform government and relevant health agencies on the growing burden of low vision in Ghana and subsequently expedite the implementation of national health policies aimed at enhancing the modest use of the limited eye care resources available in Ghana.

The aim is to apply for a project that pursues the following goals:
1. Establishment of a low vision module in the Doctor of Optometry course (KNUST, Ghana)
2. Continuation and expansion of the epidemiological study on the influence of nutrition on the visual system in childhood, which 
was started in 2021
3. Establishment of a LowVision service for the training of students and for the care of people with visual impairments (teaching 
clinic)
4. Internationalization of the Low Vision module for students and professionals in West Africa.
The project application relates to a one-week trip by the German cooperation partner to KNUST in Ghana. This is intended to 
intensify the cooperation and advance the application process (items 1-4).