Coordinated Approach to Community Health (CATCH)
The CATCH programme, which finished in 2019, ensured that patients who visited trachoma screening camps with another eye condition, such as cataracts, were given the treatment they needed.
What we’ve learned from the CATCH programme
Read the report (pdf)The innovative CATCH programme, which ran from 2015 to 2019, helped to increase access to eye health services and provided eye care treatments across trachoma-endemic areas in five countries in East Africa.
CATCH, which stands for Coordinated Approach to Community Health, has worked towards sustainable eye care services across Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. The lessons learned will help us develop future programmes.
How did the programme work?
While running our trachoma screening programmes in Africa, we realised many patients coming to the camps had cataracts and other eye diseases that the camps didn’t have the necessary equipment or right environment to treat.
The patients turned away were unlikely to seek further help due to lack of money or distance to get to their nearest hospital.
With support from the British people through UK aid, the CATCH programme piggybacked on large-scale trachoma initiatives funded by the UK government and The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. It helped to ensure that cataract patients were given help to travel to the nearest facility where cataract surgery could be performed.
Supporting surgeons
The CATCH programme has helped to train cataract surgeons such as Gladys.
Read Gladys’s storyWhat did the programme achieve?
Easier referrals
CATCH has helped to improve referral systems in communities, so people can learn about the causes of poor vision and how to get help for eye issues.
Shared evidence
The programme has gathered a wealth of research and evidence, and shared it with national and local governments to improve eye health services.
Strong partnerships
The programme would not have been possible without developing relationships and collaborations with stakeholders across all five countries.
Looking to the future
While significant progress has been made to provide sustainable eye care services, there are still challenges to be faced and work that needs to be done. Sightsavers and partners need the continued support of donors, as well as national and local governments to make sure eye health is a top priority. Together we can enhance the health, quality of life and future wellbeing of millions of people.
Thanks to your support…
Vision Spring USA donated 55,000 pairs of reading glasses, which were distributed to people in need through the programme.
The CATCH project was funded by the UK government’s Department for International Development as a result of donations made by Sightsavers supporters in 2014 during a funding appeal. The donations were matched pound for pound by the UK Aid Match fund.
What we’ve learned from CATCH
The programme has restored the sight of more than 21,000 people and generated a wealth of knowledge that will be used to improve future programmes.
Read our blogMore about our work
SIghtsavers and eye health