Addressing disability in the health system at CARITAS Takeo Eye Hospital

In recent years, CARITAS Takeo Eye Hospital (CTEH) in Cambodia has worked hard to be more inclusive of people with disabilities. While there have been some challenges along the way, the overall results of the new practices appear to be very positive. The first change came in 2008, when the old, run-down eye hospital was replaced with a brand new facility. The major donor, CBM, encouraged the local partner CARITAS Cambodia to grasp the opportunity to design the new building so that it would meet high standards of accessibility. CBM emphasised that a ‘universal design’ approach, reducing the (physical) barriers for everybody, regardless of age and ability, could lead to a win–win situation for all patients, not only those with disabilities. Guidance from CBM (based on the document Promoting universal access to the built environment1) was invaluable for local architects, and the result was the construction of an eye hospital with significantly improved physical accessibility. The second important change in strengthening practices related to people with disabilities, beyond just physical accessibility, was triggered by the Avoidable Blindness Initiative funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). This programme emphasised wider issues including disability inclusion, gender, and child protection. Eye care projects had to report specifically against these issues, for example, physical accessibility for people with disabilities and the number of eye health services with documented referral pathways to disability services and disabled people’s organisations.2 In collaboration with CBM Australia, a number of activities on different levels were implemented between 2009 and 2012: