Bolivia
Introducing the Bolivia Project, our mission is to establish a sustainable solution for retinal disease management in Cochabamba and Bolivia, collaborating with the Bolivian Retina Society, Bolivian Ophthalmology Society, and the Department of Health to empower those needing resources for patient care and education.
Hola!
Dr. Anthony Christopher Maida Medina completed his undergraduate studies at the Universidad
Mayor de San Simon, graduating as a general physician in 2009. With an interest in ophthalmology, he graduated the ophthalmology residency program at the Bolivian Foundation of Ophthalmology in 2018. As part of his medical -surgical training, he completed a fellowship in cataract surgery at Sankara Hospital in Benguluru, India in 2019. Given his interest in retina visual care, he completed fellowship training in medical and surgical retina at the Central Military Hospital in Mexico City, with additional training in Uvea and inflammatory ocular diseases, and retinopathy of prematurity.
Dr. Maida is Manager for Retina Global’s Project Bolivia since his return to Bolivia after completing his retina fellowship. He became involved in the program since 2015 while in his first year of residency, working diligently with visiting retina specialists and for the program.
Currently, Dr. Maida is Consultant Retina Specialist at the Solomon Klein Hospital, part of the Bolivian public health system. He is also Consultant in retina and ocular inflammatory diseases at the clinic Sociedad de Cirugía Ocular in Cochabamba.
About the Bolivia Project
Bolivia is one of the major underserved countries in South America in terms of availability of retinal care. The few retina specialists in the country are mostly based in major cities, and due to lack of resources, do not provide care in public hospitals. Hence, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds either do not have access to retinal care, or they must pay significant amount of money to seek help from retinal physicians in the private sector.
Retinal diseases are on the rise in the country. Diabetes has become one of the major health & economic issues in Bolivia, with predisposing factors such as obesity (49% of the population is overweight and 16% obese as per WHO) and change in life style habits increasing the propensity for diabetes and in turn, diabetic retinopathy (DR), mainly in the underserved population.
The Bolivia program is focused on providing a sustainable solution to retinal disease management in Cochabamba and Bolivia. Working in tandem with the Bolivian Retina Society and Bolivian Ophthalmology Society, as well as the Department of Health, we hope to provide enough resources to Dr. Maida and his team for them to provide care to the patients, while also educating others.
Interested in volunteering?
Join us in our mission to create a brighter and healthier future for individuals affected by retinal diseases. To explore opportunities for collaboration or to become a part of our volunteer network, please get in touch with us. Together, we can turn our vision into a reality and ensure that retinal expertise reaches every corner of the world.