Kiribati is made up of 33 small islands, in three island groups dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres. These three island groups are so distant from each other that people have to travel via Fiji to get from one to another.

In 2015, Kiribati gained its first national ophthalmologist, Dr Rabebe Tekeraoi, who returned home after studies abroad to set up the nation's first eye clinic at the Tungaru Central Hospital. The population of around 100,000 is now served by this small eye clinic on the main atoll of Tarawa.

The clinic provides restorative sight procedures which previously could not be performed in-country. It takes a team to run the clinic, including the eye care nurses who assist in surgery and the biomed technicians, who repair and maintain the clinic equipment. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) supports the training and mentoring of these biomed technicians in the repair and maintenance of key eye clinic equipment, including microscopes and slit lamps.

Last year, RACS also expanded the services available at the eye clinic by purchasing additional equipment and instruments. The clinic is now completely sustainable, with a variety of sight restorative procedures being performed every Monday in-theatre, and clinics running throughout the week for diagnosis and non-surgical treatment.

Additionally, every month-or-two, the clinic becomes mobile, with microscopes and medication packed – a tour to the outer islands is undertaken, bringing crucial services to those living on atolls across the Pacific, covering an area as large as the United States of America.

RACS is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).