This lesson is adapted from The National Eye Health Coordinator Manual.
International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, 2011.
National vs district level in VISION 2020
It is important to make the distinction between a VISION 2020 national plan and a VISION 2020 district plan.
National planning has several purposes. It:
In contrast, a VISION 2020 district plan addresses the implementation of an eye care programme in an administrative area of between about 0.5 and 2 million population. Such units may have a variety of names in different countries, for example, regions, provinces, subdistricts or districts.
National planning
National planning must be open and transparent. Excluding certain people or organisations may cause resentment and the loss of valuable input. Nonetheless, national planning is often best organised by getting a small group of very experienced people together to make the first draft which can be sent around to a wider group of people for comment.
By the time of the national planning meeting, the draft should be virtually finished and most people coming to the meeting should already have provided their input. It is very helpful to have an external facilitator at the meeting who is an expert on VISION 2020 and planning.
District planning
District planning is organised differently in national planning. Much of the writing of the district plan is done during the planning session, using information collected ahead of time. The planning session should follow these basic steps:
Pre-planning activities are essential
All planning, whether at the national or district level, start by considering the current situation. It is essential to devote sufficient time to pre-planning. Meeting to plan without having baseline evidence and information to hand is a waste of everyone’s time.