This manual summarises expert discussions and evidence on childhood cataract in Africa, focusing on early detection, timely surgical management, and comprehensive follow-up care to improve visual outcomes and quality of life for affected children.
Knowledge that drives action. Tools that support change.
Resources
At KCCO, we believe that sharing practical knowledge is just as powerful as delivering care.
Our growing resource library supports eye care professionals, program managers, policymakers, researchers and educators across Africa with tools designed to strengthen systems, train teams and scale sustainable impact.
Whether you’re developing a national plan, launching a hospital program, or conducting training in remote areas. These resources are built to inform and empower your work.
Health Systems
Training and deployment of Key Informants (KIs)
This guide explains how to use trained community Key Informants to identify children with severe visual impairment and support follow-up after eye surgery. It focuses on practical, low-cost community case finding, strong coordination, short targeted training, and continuous supervision to improve early detection and post-surgical care outcomes.
Spanish-language guide offering practical approaches for clinical low vision services in Africa
A Spanish-language guide offering practical approaches for clinical low vision services in Africa. It covers service components, detection and referral processes, vision assessment, accessibility, educational inclusion, and coordination between health and education sectors.
The Need for Management Capacity to Achieve VISION 2020 in Sub-Saharan Africa
This policy forum article highlights how improving eye care in Sub-Saharan Africa requires more than clinical training. It argues for the urgent need to build nonclinical management capacity—covering human resources, finances, outreach, and planning—to effectively implement the VISION 2020 goals and eliminate avoidable blindness.
Leadership and Management for Trachoma Elimination
A detailed report on improving district-level planning for VISION 2020 in Africa, emphasizing data-driven strategies for addressing cataract, refractive error, childhood blindness, and other eye conditions through effective collaboration, service delivery, and monitoring.
Task shifting for trichiasis surgery in patients with trachoma
This systematic review evaluates the practice of task-shifting trichiasis surgery from specialized eye health workers to general health workers in trachoma-endemic countries. It examines surgical outcomes, productivity, and implementation challenges. While generalists can perform surgery with comparable quality to specialists, their productivity remains low due to systemic issues like poor supervision, lack of supplies, and inadequate support. The review emphasizes the need for focused training, better oversight, and dedicated personnel to effectively reduce the burden of trachomatous trichiasis.
Micro-planning for Effective Zithromax® Mass Drug Administration
This manual from the International Coalition for Trachoma Control provides detailed guidance for micro-planning Zithromax® Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaigns. It includes pre-planning steps, tools, workshop agendas, supervision strategies, and reporting mechanisms to enhance efficiency, improve health systems, and support trachoma elimination efforts.
Trachoma Action Planning: A Planning Guide for the National Elimination of Blinding Trachoma
A practical guide to planning and delivering efficient mass drug administration (MDA) of Zithromax® for trachoma control, developed by ICTC to support national and district-level health teams.
Using evidence for VISION 2020 “district” planning
This report summarizes a four-day workshop held at KCCO in Moshi, Tanzania, focused on improving the use of evidence in planning VISION 2020 eye care programs at the district level in Africa. It outlines key data requirements, planning processes, disease-specific strategies, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure effective, data-driven service delivery. The report also emphasizes the importance of stakeholder coordination and the use of updated blindness prevalence estimates to improve planning accuracy and implementation outcomes.
Microfinance and Health
This review from the explores the evidence supporting task-shifting in eye care, specifically the training and use of non-physician cataract surgeons (NPCS) to address cataract-related blindness in Sub-Saharan Africa. Given the shortage and poor distribution of ophthalmologists, NPCS (often clinical officers or ophthalmic nurses with additional training) have been deployed in several countries to increase access to cataract surgery. The report analyzes their effectiveness, quality of surgical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and productivity, with case studies from Kenya, The Gambia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Ghana. While the evidence shows that NPCS can deliver high-quality surgeries, particularly when well-trained, supervised, and supported, issues such as post-training deployment, resource availability, and systemic health barriers remain challenges. The review concludes that while NPCS are not a universal solution, they are a viable strategy in underserved areas and should be integrated thoughtfully into national eye health programs.