About COECSA
About Us
The College of Ophthalmology of Eastern Central and Southern Africa (COECSA)
The College of Ophthalmology of Eastern Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) is a specialist virtual college, that plays a pivotal role in building a skilled eye force to provide quality eye care in the Eastern, Central & Southern African region and supporting global research initiatives to tackle common eye care challenges worldwide.
COECSA seeks to improve the number and quality of eye care workers in the region, through training, leadership and promoting standards of best practice, research, and advocacy.
With the digitalization of healthcare services playing a focal role in shaping the future of delivering patient care, COECSA places a premium on partnership to produce sustainable results.
A key highlight from 2023 was the successful completion of 116 written examinations administered online in the first ever COESCA online examinations.
Written Exams
Countries in SSA
Partnerships
History of COECSA
1971 - Founding of OSEA
The activities and initiatives of the original societies within the region date back to 1971, with the founding of the Ophthalmological Society of East Africa (OSEA) that served to help train the regions eye care professionals.
1997 - EACO
The activities of the EACO, date back to 1997 where support in terms of training and research to improve the quality of eye care services in the Eastern Africa region were initiated. EACO was officially incorporated in 2001.
2005 - Collaboration
By 2005, the breadth of coverage was extended to a training arm in Uganda, as a regional training arm. During the 52 years of educational efforts in the region, we are proud of the continuous achievements and developments in the region.
2012 - COECSA
COECSA as we know today, was formed in 2012 from the merging of the EACO and the Ophthalmological Society of Eastern Africa to strengthen and unify the regions training.
12 years of COECSA
Improving Eye Care Services Across 12 nations
With over 9000 eye care professionals contributing to the delivery of eye health services across the patient pathway within the COECSA region, these virtual platforms, partnerships and opportunities for continuing medical education provide immense value to help support COECSA ’s mandate to:
1
Set Standards
Contribute to human resources for health through quality training in ophthalmology and setting standards for professional ophthalmic practice.
2
Continued Development
Facilitate continuing professional development and contribute to health policy development. As well as, promote research which advances ophthalmology in the region.
3
Innovation
These platforms and partnerships help us to continue learning and innovating in Africa.
For more information about COECSA, responsible persons and day to day activities, please visit: https://coecsa.org
Rwanda Case Study How our partnerships have improved the lives of our communities
As a result of a training partnership with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, we have been able to significantly improve eye care services in Rwanda. The partnership, has ensured patients can access an affordable eye test within 5km of their home.
As well as, ensure Ophthalmic Technicians can diagnose, treat, refract and refer patients for specialist treatment.
