Supporting Ukrainians who have vision loss due to the war

A group of British sight loss charities have come together to showcase vision rehabilitation services available in the UK to a delegation of Ukrainian health and education professionals. The group was here to respond to the large increase in traumatic eye injuries caused by the war in Ukraine.

The World Health Organisation Ukraine with support of the British Government has provided us with full funding for the project because of our significant experience in sight loss rehabilitation, particularly in supporting the needs of those who have lost their sight as a result of war.

Dr Jarno Habicht, World Health Organization Ukraine Country Office Representative says:

“War often causes complex injuries which can result in partial or total vision loss. Ukraine rehabilitation professionals must have the skills and competencies to address these injuries as part of comprehensive rehabilitation services, across the continuum of care.

“The government of Ukraine asked us to put a programme together with an organisation experienced in the field. Blind Veterans UK was the natural partner for us, given their experience of providing rehabilitation to those who have been blinded due to traumatic injury and must have the skills to regain independence in their communities.”

Over the past two weeks we have organised the showcase of sight loss services from 17 organisations in the sector including RNIB, Guide Dogs, and the Royal National College for the Blind. During the first week of the visit the delegation heard from one of our beneficiaries, Simon, who lost his sight when he was injured during the war in Iraq. Simon says:

“When I found out that I’d lost my sight, my world fell apart. I’d lost my career, my job, and my future. The most important thing for me at that time was to be convinced to keep moving forward. Otherwise, I would have struggled to engage with my rehabilitation journey. That’s the main thing that I wanted to communicate to the Ukrainian delegation."

Philippa, our National Rehabilitation Services Lead and coordinator of this project, says:

“On top of the number of eye injuries we are seeing in Ukraine, the issue is being exacerbated because the rehabilitation and specialised education workforce in Ukraine has not had access to this specific type of training. Our aim with this project is to support Ukraine to build their capacity and capability.

“Over the two-week period we gave an overview of the sight loss sector and services available in the UK such as independent living training, rehabilitation services, getting back into work, how services are funded, and charity partnerships."