We are working with the government of Samoa to end avoidable blindness and vision impairment in this naturally beautiful country.
Samoa’s population of just over 220,000 people live across an archipelago of nine islands, with 99 per cent of the population living on the two largest islands, Savai’i and Upolu. The country’s capital, Apia, is on the island of Upolu.
The Samoan people strive to preserve fa’a Samoa, the Samoan way of life, which underpins many of their customs and values. Remote islands and a lack of public health funding are a challenge for eye care. The Foundation continues to support the Samoan government as it strives to change this.
The most common causes of blindness and vision impairment in Samoa are:
Cataract and refractive error cause 56% of the nation’s vision impairment, while diabetes eye disease accounts for 13%. Glaucoma and eye injuries also result in blindness and vision impairment.
Samoa has a large diabetic population. Screening for diabetes eye disease, a complication of diabetes, is vital: the disease has no noticeable symptoms in the early stages, yet if left undiagnosed it can cause blindness. In 2017 we began a diabetes eye disease screening programme in Samoa and supported the eye care team to establish a diabetes eye care programme.
The Foundation has successfully partnered with the Samoan Ministry of Health for almost two decades, working together towards improving the country’s eye health systems. In that time, significant progress has been made.
Samoa’s sole eye doctor – Dr Lucilla Ah-Ching Sefo – is a Foundation-sponsored graduate of the Pacific Eye Institute and recipient of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2014.
Samoa has 17 eye care nurses, of which 16 are Foundation-sponsored graduates. Of these nurses, 13 work in Apia, two in Lalomanu, and one each in Sataua and Satupaitea.
We are committed to transforming eye care throughout the Pacific and know this will take more than surgery alone. With that in mind, we support the local Samoan eye care team through workforce support programmes that ensure graduates have suitable clinics, retain their skills and confidence, and receive support from their government. We also continue to support the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital Eye Clinic (TTM) in Apia.
The Foundation has worked in collaboration with the Samoan Ministry of Health to develop the country’s National Eye Care Plan 2024–2028. The plan focuses on the importance of eye health within the broader Samoan health care framework, ensures equitable access to eye care, and promotes preventative eye care measures within local communities. It will act as a guiding tool to enhance delivery of Samoa’s eye health care services.
The Ministry of Health also signed a new five-year partnership with The Foundation, to continue progress towards ending avoidable blindness and vision impairment in Samoa.
The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ is a registered charitable organisation under the Charities Act 2005.
Charities Commission registration number is CC23722.
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