Tonga has reached a major milestone with the completion of its first Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey. Over eight weeks, the survey team visited 122 villages and communities, examining the eyes of around 4,000 people aged 50 years and older. The findings will provide the Tonga Ministry of Health with crucial evidence to guide future eye care planning and policy.
Tonga’s local eye care team is small, so partnerships with other Pacific nations are essential when carrying out a large-scale project like this. The RAAB was led locally by Dr Duke Mataka, Head of the Eye Department at Vaiola Hospital in Nuku’alofa, and Mele Vuki, National Eye Coordinator and RAAB Survey Coordinator. The training was officially opened by Dr Reynold ‘Ofanoa, CEO of Tonga’s Ministry of Health, and facilitated by Dr Ana Cama, an experienced RAAB Trainer.
A team of six eye doctors from Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands worked together with nine Tongan eye care nurses to carry out this nationwide survey across three out of four of Tonga’s island groups. This model of collaboration reflects the strength of Pacific partnerships, where small but dedicated national teams are supported by a network of colleagues from across the region. Additional support with logistics and community engagement came from local community nurses and town clerks.
This survey is the third of its kind to be completed in the Pacific as part of The State of Eye Health Research Programme, a five-year partnership between Pacific Island governments, the New Zealand Government, the University of Auckland, Ian Anderson Economics, and The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ. Vanuatu led the way in 2023, followed by Samoa in 2024, with Tonga now joining this important regional effort to build a shared evidence base for eye healthcare systems.
Two Pacific eye doctors – Dr Duke Mataka and Dr Andronico Ly have shared their expertise across all three RAAB surveys, with consistent support from Dr Ana Cama as RAAB Trainer. Their ongoing participation highlights the strong sense of regional teamwork, with countries supporting each other to produce the reliable and high-quality data needed to strengthen eye healthcare systems.
The data collected through Tonga’s RAAB will help guide national planning and policy, while also advancing the programme’s broader goals – building research capacity, improving access to eye health information, and building strong local leadership across the Pacific.
The survey was made possible through the support of the Tonga Ministry of Health, Lions Clubs International Foundation, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ, working together to reduce avoidable blindness and vision impairment in the region.
