“Building Clearer Futures”: Meet Jaona, Strengthening Eye Health Across the Globe

Stories | June 22, 2026

Each month, CBM Australia takes readers behind the scenes to meet the people helping transform the lives of people with disabilities around the world. This month, we introduce Jaona, an Inclusive Eye Health Advisor with CBM Global and someone whose decades-long journey across Madagascar, Cameroon, and beyond has helped shape eye care for communities that often have no access at all.

From training local health workers to designing sustainable programs, Jaona’s focus is simple but powerful: make eye care reachable for everyone.

How did you begin working in eye health, and what drives your work today?

Jaona: I started working with CBM back in 2002 as part of a project team in Madagascar. Over the years, I moved into different roles – supporting eye health programs, helping build a specialist eye hospital in Cameroon, and now serving as an Inclusive Eye Health Advisor for CBM Global.

My role today is about working with CBM Global Member Teams, like CBM Australia, and guiding Country Teams as they design and deliver eye health programs. I look at what’s possible in each local context, what resources exist, what equipment is realistic, and what will actually last. For example, some partners request very advanced machines for cataract surgery, but in places without reliable electricity, they simply can’t be used. What matters most is choosing solutions that truly work for people on the ground.

What do you see as the biggest challenge, and opportunity, in global eye health right now?

Jaona: Around the world, there are far too few eye doctors. That means many people wait years for essential care, even for conditions like cataracts that can be treated quickly.

One of our greatest successes is training mid-level health workers, like nurses and community health staff, to do basic eye assessments. When they can identify eye problems early, it frees up specialists enabling them to focus on the most complex cases. It also means people in remote areas have someone nearby who can help.

By building strong primary eye care systems, we can reach many more people, far sooner.

Australian donors often ask how CBM continues to support cataract surgery. What would you want them to know?

Jaona: Improving access to cataract surgery starts with finding people early. That’s why we invest heavily in primary eye care, and we are good at working through the health system.

Different countries need different strategies. In some places, outreach eye camps allow surgeons to travel into communities where hundreds of people might receive cataract operations in a single week. In other countries, government policies limit this approach, so patients must be referred to established hospitals.

Where those limits exist, CBM works with governments to advocate for change. If a surgeon can only perform 20–30 cataract operations a month because of policy restrictions, people may wait many months for treatment. We are advocating to increase these quotas to transform lives.

How do you ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, can access eye health services?

Jaona: People with disabilities often face extra barriers when they try to access health care. Our job is to make sure no one is left behind.

We use CBM’s Accessibility GO guidelines which we developed with the World Blind Union to help clinics become more inclusive. This includes everything from ensuring wheelchair access to choosing equipment that suits people with different mobility or communication needs.

We also work closely with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities so they can shape the design of health programs from the beginning. When clinics are built for everyone, everyone benefits.

Why does this work matter to you?

Jaona: What keeps me motivated is seeing lives change. When someone regains their sight or receives care they’ve been waiting on for years, you feel the impact immediately. And knowing that our teams across the world work together with communities, with people with disabilities, and with partners like CBM Australia makes this work deeply rewarding.

Support the work Jaona is leading, give the gift of sight today.

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