Expanding CBM’s vision to rural areas in need of eye health care support
Having worked for over 5 years in eye health care with the main national ophthalmology hospital in the capital, Luanda, CBM Luxembourg is establishing projects in rural areas to reach more people in need
Why this project?
In rural parts of Angola, eye care is neither available, accessible, nor affordable for the majority of the population. Lack of knowledge of where to receive treatments, as well as lack of affordable transport means people in need of screening or surgery do not travel to the city for treatment. Clinics outside the capital, such as SOLE Boa Vista, serve a large number of patients who travel long distances and need to save for years to afford eye treatment.
CBM Luxembourg began to expand its partnerships beyond the capital of Luanda in 2025, starting a new relationship with SOLE Boa Vista, located in Benguela, approximately 500km from the capital Luanda. SOLE Boa Vista carries out over 3,000 cataract surgeries per year, with around 25% coming from its outreach program, where the medical staff visit rural provinces. In these outreach campaigns, staff travel to remote areas and offer screenings as well as operations, allowing people to access treatment without needing to travel to the capital
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How does this project help?
By training approximately ten entry-level ophthalmic nurses each year, CBM is improving eye healthcare by increasing the number of eye care professionals across Angola. This strengthens community-based screening and brings more trained ophthalmic personnel into the public health system.
Thanks to the knowledge acquired, these ten healthcare professionals will be able to work in urban suburbs or rural areas to identify patients with eye injuries or diseases in their communities, treat them, and, in complex cases, refer them to an ophthalmologist.
The graduates learn how to promote and refer eye health problems to specialists, as well as how to identify a cataract. They can participate in community outreach programs to promote eye health awareness, including screening for common eye diseases and providing education on eye care prevention strategies.
In 2025, CBM Luxembourg funded this six-month pilot training program of ten entry-level ophthalmic nurses. As part of their graduation, CBM presented each of the nurses with an Arclight direct ophthalmoscope to detect eye diseases, particularly cataract, independently while performing their screening work.
CBM Luxembourg also supported Boa Vista with the training of an ophthalmologist and will continue to do so into 2026. While the doctor is on training, CBM is supporting the Boa Vista with financial support for replacement ophthalmologists to carry out surgeries.
What does the project achieve?
Training of 10 nurses and ophthalmologists:
The goal shall be to fully train ten entry-level ophthalmological nurses on the Basic Training six-month program per year. CBM is funding tuition fees, materials, travel and food for these trainees.
CBM shall contribute to the payment of tuition fees and a scholarship as well as other costs for ophthalmologists in training.
Equipment and consumables:
CBM will support financially with medical equipment such as a microscope and other potential needs. CBM will also provide some support for consumables kits for cataract operations as well as lenses and medicines.
Local partner
Our local partner is the SOLE (Solidariedade Evangelica – Casa de Saúde) Boa Vista situated in Benguela, 500km from Luanda. The CBM Team visited in October 2025 to establish the relationship and view the training of the entry-level nurses. From this visit, CBM determined to collaborate further and to sign a memorandum of understanding to work together for 3 further years.
The budget
CBM Luxembourg donated €27,463 to the Boa Vista during 2025 and we are looking forward to working more with them in 2026 and through to 2028. According to the financial means of CBM Luxembourg, we plan to donate at least €50,000 per year to the project in rural Angola.
