Allocating Resources for Glaucoma Care—A Review

Abstract

G laucoma affects over 70 million people worldwide, with the highest prevalence in Africa. The care of glaucoma is lifelong and costly; the annual direct cost per person for glaucoma medical treatment ranges from US$394 in sub-Saharan Africa to US$1,055 in the USA. Challenges of poor awareness, late presentation, acceptance, and adherence to treatment as well as follow-up care abound for glaucoma care. Available resources seem insufficient, hence the need to evaluate areas to channel resources in glaucoma care for maximum impact, especially in climes where they are limited. Even in high-income settings, resources are not unlimited. Different impact points exist in the care pathway, from early detection activities through awareness creation and screening, to appropriate diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care for monitoring disease stability as well as establishing pragmatic health system governance for long-term sustainability. This paper discusses several ways of allocating available resources to glaucoma care in order to target these impact points, as well as the pivotal role of provision of eye care as a social enterprise, especially in low-resource settings such as Africa, for better patient management outcomes. Disclosure: Nkiru Nwamaka Kizor-Akaraiwe and Olusola Olawoye have nothing to disclose in relation to this article. Review Process: Double-blind peer review.