Gates Award Nomination

The International Eye Foundation – Gates Global Health Award nominee.

IEF was nominated for the 2009 Gates Award for contributions to improving global health.

It was a great honor to receive a nomination for this prestigious award, however, the award for 2009 went to another worthy institution – we congratulate them on being selected.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — the first academic institution to win the annual prize and the first British winner — was chosen by a jury of international health leaders for its efforts to build health systems and train health personnel in low-income and post-conflict countries while researching diseases that particularly affect disadvantaged people, including malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.

Gender and Eye Health

Leading US-based eye care NGOs held a briefing, “Seeing Women: Taking on Gender Inequities in Global Blindness Prevention,” at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on April 30, 2009 exploring links between gender and blindness, poverty, disability and education. NGOs and groups advancing the rights of women presented case studies and effective strategies that work in improving access to eye care services for women and girls

“Globally, women bear a greater burden of blindness than men,” said Victoria Sheffield, President, International Eye Foundation. “Clear evidence from developing countries shows that women receive fewer eye care services in part because eye care programs are not tailored to meet the needs of women and second, cultural and social barriers exist at the community level.”