Appropriate Guidelines for Eye Care in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies and Disasters

With over 40 wars and conflicts occurring at any given time and with projections that both the rate and intensity of natural disasters will increase, hundreds of millions are at risk of being affected by complex humanitarian emergencies or disasters. The large-scale nature of recent disasters and the prolonged nature of some refugee contexts have lead to an increased interest in the provision of eye care in these populations.

Many health care professionals have misconceptions regarding appropriate emergency responses and standard eye care approaches are not always applicable in emergency contexts. When the primary aim of humanitarian responses is to reduce the loss of life, it can be difficult to know how eye care should be prioritized.

Although, eye specific guidelines are not found in the humanitarian relief literature, the SPHERE Project – Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, which is the leading reference for humanitarian responses, are applicable for eye interventions. Complex emergency or disaster specific guidelines are not found in the ophthalmic literature, but elements of the WHO Prevention of Blindness Program guidelines and the Vision 2020 guidelines are applicable when used in the emergency context.

We will summarize these documents to provide an outline of the appropriate timing and appropriate choice of interventions when addressing eye care needs in complex humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters.