Peter Ackland (pictured) was formerly Chief Executive of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). He retired from the Peek Foundation board of Trustees in 2019.
Credit: Peek Vision
The Peek Vision Foundation has extended its new Peter Ackland scholarship award to all 22 shortlisted candidates, following the decision to move the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) short course on international eye health online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Peter Ackland scholarship was established by the Peek Foundation in 2020 to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of Peter Ackland to global eye health. Peter Ackland retired from the Peek Foundation board of Trustees in 2019, having been a board member since Peek was established in late 2015. He was formerly Chief Executive of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
In normal circumstances, the scholarship would cover travel expenses and course fees for one person to attend the internationally-renowned ICEH course at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in the UK. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that the course can no longer take place in person and it will be run as an online course this year.
As a result, the Peter Ackland scholarship has been extended to cover course fees for all 22 shortlisted candidates from 14 countries, who will attend the course online when it takes place 6-9 July 2020.
“I am delighted that this year’s Peter Ackland scholarship can be extended by virtue of it going online to all of the shortlisted candidates. It was proving very difficult to narrow the selection down with so many outstanding applicants,” said Andrew Bastawrous, Peek Vision CEO and Associate Professor of International Eye Health at ICEH.
“Peter Ackland has been a wonderful supporter of Peek since its early days, and the scholarship is our way of recognising his invaluable contribution to our work and global eye health more widely.”
The International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) runs a number of prestigious courses in global eye health. The one week short course is intended for eye health professionals working in low- and middle-income settings and covers the principles of planning and implementing district and national level eye care programmes. It is co-organised by Andrew Bastawrous and Professor Allen Foster OBE, who is also a Trustee of the Peek Vision Foundation.
Registration for this year’s short course has now closed, but potential participants can register interest in future courses here.