Orbis International has held its inaugural 'Women Leaders in Eye Health' (WLEH) conference in a landmark effort to close the gender gap in eye healthcare leadership.

Held at the Golden Bean Hotel in Kumasi on Saturday, August 16, 2025 , the event brought together female eye health professionals from four key cadres: ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses, and opticians.

The conference, a partnership between Orbis International, Women in Ophthalmology, and the Seva Foundation , operated under the theme, “Mentorship, Breaking Barriers; Building Legacies".

The conference's objective was to create a platform for like-minded women to collaborate, find solutions to challenges, and create opportunities in the field of ophthalmology.

While women constitute 70% of the global health workforce, they hold only 25% of leadership positions.

This disparity is particularly pronounced in ophthalmology, where women account for only 25-30% of professionals globally.

In Ghana, women's representation is low among optometrists (29%) and ophthalmologists (44%), with a "glaring lack of representation in leadership roles".

A key focus of the conference was highlighting initiatives that can help address this imbalance.

Orbis International is committed to a "gender transformative strategy" that includes mentorship programmes, networking, and providing equitable access to training resources.

The use of transformative technology, such as the organisation's telemedicine platform, CyberSight, and a blended learning approach, helps female professionals pursue their career interests while managing other challenges.

The event also showcased the significant contributions of women in the sector.

Notably, all five of Ghana's paediatric ophthalmologists are women, described as "trailblazing" leaders who are not only providing services but also training the next generation.

Community health nurses, also predominantly women, have successfully increased eye health awareness in underserved communities.

The conference will serve as a launchpad for a new Women in Ophthalmology Society in Ghana, which aims to advocate for and uplift women as leaders in the sector and beyond.

The participants also developed recommendations, including a call for the Ministry of Health to strengthen Ghana's sole ophthalmic nursing training school and establish new ones.

Additionally, they urged health facilities to provide financial support for further ophthalmic studies.

In conclusion, the conference congratulated the College of Physicians and Surgeons for its proactive leadership in increasing the number of ophthalmology trainees and decentralising training centres.

By uplifting women in eye health, the organisers believe they are strengthening the collective mission to provide exceptional care and advance eye health in Ghana and globally.

At the end of the conference, the platform birthed proposals to improve women's participation in the sector:

Key ways to address the gender gap in eye health

• Highlighting initiatives such as mentorship programs and networking opportunities enable the growth and support to uplift women in the medical field. On Saturday 16^th August 2025, Orbis International Ghana held the first ever conference for female eye health professionals from four ophthalmic cadres (ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses and opticians)  at the Golden Bean Hotel, Kumasi- under the theme of  “Mentorship, Breaking Barriers; Building Legacies”. This event supported this powerful group of leaders to leave behind  differences and find viable solutions to the peculiar challenges women face in their communities and career.
• Innovations in telemedicine and AI have proven to help overcome access barriers for women. Orbis International's transformative telemedicine platform, CyberSight, and our use of the blended learning approach helps significantly  to train residents and fellows in the ophthalmic education program. Providing equitable opportunity and access to training resources and methodologies allow female eye health professionals to pursue their interests while tackling other gender specific challenges that could tarry their career aspirations.
• Showcasing women's contributions to research, innovation, and patient care is critical.. In Ghana, Community Health Nurses have successfully increased eye health awareness in under-served communities.  While women ophthalmologists face unique  challenges to thrive in subspeciality areas, it is notable that the only pediatric ophthalmologists in the country (5 total) are all women. Congratulations to these 5 trailblazing women who are breaking  barriers and building legacies by providing services and training rising stars in this subspecialty. Orbis pledges to continue our support in providing resources that are aligned with current technology and  training for these inspiring leaders.
• Ensuring a representation of women in leadership roles inspire future generations of female professionals. This conference will serve as a springboard to pioneer a Women in Ophthalmology Society in Ghana which seeks to advocate and uplift women as leaders in this sector and beyond.

Recommendations

• The Ministry Of Health should strengthen the capacity of the only Ophthalmic nursing training school in Ghana serving the sub-region to a center of excellence while taking steps to establish new ophthalmic nursing training institutions in other parts of the country to increase access to ophthalmic nursing education in the country and beyond. Orbis is open to partnership and collaboration in this regard.
• Women in eye care should continue to standout in their various facilities, offering excellent services to patients and embrace leadership roles. Through the support of this society, they will have a support system that will mentor and promote participation and assumption of leadership activities and roles.
• Health facilities should make financial support available for ophthalmic training apart from study leave to attract more people to pursue further studies in the ophthalmic space to ensure that  training is equitable and accessible to all.