Malawi doing a great job to end eye diseases—Duchess of Edinburgh

High Commissioner Dr. Bisika interacting with the Duke of Edinburgh

* High Commissioner Dr. Thomas Bisika had the opportunity to brief both the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh about pink eye disease

* And how the Malawi health authorities swiftly engaged the public on how to address the outbreak

By Duncan Mlanjira

In her interaction with Malawi High Commissioner to the UK, Dr. Thomas Bisika at King Charles’ debut Royal Garden Party in London, The Duchess of Edinburgh — who works on preventable blindness — reiterated that Malawi is doing a great job and needs to continue this work to ensure that eye diseases do not re-emerge.

Bisika said he had the opportunity to brief both the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh about pink eye disease in Malawi and how the health authorities swiftly engaged the public on how to address the outbreak.

“In October 2022, Her Royal Highness Duchess of Edinburgh celebrated World Sight Day in Malawi,” Bisika said. “During her visit in Malawi, the Duchess saw first-hand the lasting impact and legacy of the work undertaken by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust which was launched in 2012 with an aim to end avoidable blindness across the Commonwealth and beyond.”

Then as Countess of Wessex, Princess Sophie visited Botswana and Malawi as part of her role as a global ambassador for International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) — to assess the progress that has been made in helping people with eye-surgery and eye care.

Before her visit, Duchess of Edinburgh wrote an open letter to the people of Malawi congratulating them on their work to help prevent avoidable blindness — a particular area of focus for her work.

The letter was released on Commonwealth Day and cited Malawi as having set an important example for other Commonwealth nations to follow. 

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, whose vice-patron is the Duchess, is charitable foundation that was established in 2012 by Commonwealth Heads of Government to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 60-year contribution to the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee.

In her letter, she said: “I am delighted to hear the news that it is now official — Malawi has removed the risk of trachoma across the country. For millennia, trachoma has blighted the lives of millions.

“Slowly and painfully, people lose their sight. They become unable to leave their homes, go to work and provide for their families. Children miss school as they have to stay at home to care for their relatives.

“Communities are trapped in a cycle of poverty, moving from one generation to the next — but now trachoma is preventable and treatable. With leadership and a concerted effort over several years, it can be eliminated.

“This is what is happening in Malawi — thanks to the unwavering leadership of Malawi’s Ministry of Health, the committed efforts of organisations working closely together within the International Coalition for Trachoma Control, and the communities themselves, the people of Malawi are no longer at risk of going blind from trachoma.

“In 2014, when the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust began work in Malawi, 8 million people were at risk of losing their sight to trachoma — now there are none,” she said before her visit in 2022 and she also toured Malawi in 2017.

“Since I visited Malawi in 2017, all 53 Commonwealth countries have committed to take action towards achieving accessible eye health for all, and to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem by 2020. “Malawi shows that it can be done. I commend Malawi for reaching this milestone and I am filled with hope that other Commonwealth nations where the disease is endemic are equally committed to ending this ancient scourge.

“To the Government of Malawi, the organisations involved, the surgeons, nurses, community volunteers, teachers, school children, and everyone else who is part of this momentous effort; congratulations.”

Meanwhile, King Charles, who recently returned to public engagements despite still receiving treatment for cancer, hosted the debut Garden Party of the season with Queen Camilla alongside other royals; Prince Edward and Princess Sophie (the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh) Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

The event was celebrating the United Kingdom’s creative industries that brought together approximately 4,000 representatives across culture, art, heritage, film, TV, radio and fashion and celebrated the economic value of the sector to the UK economy in helping to showcase British culture and creativity around the Globe — as according to communication from Buckingham Palace

There will be three other Garden Parties this year with the next will be later this month at Buckingham Palace and the final on July 2 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse — the British monarch’s official Scottish residence.