• Understand the global and regional burden of childhood cataract

• Learn evidence-based approaches to surgical management, including age, IOL use, anesthesia, and cost

• Identify and address barriers to early presentation for surgery

• Develop referral systems and strategies to improve case identification and flow

• Establish follow-up protocols and determine responsible personnel

• Design child tracking systems to prevent patients from being lost to follow-up

• Incorporate family and caregiver counseling at multiple levels of care

• Understand how to provide affordable and appropriate post-operative spectacles

• Promote community reintegration through low vision and rehabilitation services

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Assess the scope and causes of childhood cataract

• Apply updated knowledge on clinical and surgical care for children with cataract

• Train and engage community workers and health staff to identify and refer cases

• Improve referral networks and plan patient pathways efficiently

• Set up systems for reliable follow-up and patient tracking

• Deliver effective counseling and family engagement

• Facilitate access to necessary optical and low vision devices

• Strengthen community-based support and reintegration

• Magnitude of childhood cataract: global and regional data

• Current practices in surgical management of paediatric cataract

• Strategies for early detection and reducing delays

• Training and use of key informants in identification

• Effective referral systems and patient flow planning

• Structured follow-up protocols and responsibilities

• Child tracking systems and monitoring tools

• Counseling practices and family communication

• Spectacle provision: infrastructure, costs, and suitable lenses

• Low vision assessment and rehabilitation after surgery

• Integration of children into education and community life

• Didactic lectures by expert faculty from KCCO, KCMC, and other African institutions

• Case studies and interactive group discussions

• Problem-solving exercises and field-based planning

• Practical sessions on building systems and services