UJ launches R2.5m mobile eye clinic ahead of Cosmo City outreach

The University of Johannesburg and the South African Muslim Charitable Trust launched a R2.5 million mobile optometry clinic on Monday, 28 September, with its first community deployment planned for Cosmo City in October.

The vehicle carries equipment for comprehensive eye examinations and eye-health assessments, together with a laboratory for cutting and fitting spectacle lenses.

According to the university, the combination could allow patients to be examined, receive a prescription and collect their spectacles during the same outreach visit, where possible.

The clinic’s planned Cosmo City visit will coincide with World Sight Day. The vehicle will also be used to train UJ optometry students outside the university’s campuses.

In its announcement ahead of the launch, UJ said the teaching component would expose students to the practical difficulties communities face in accessing healthcare while developing their clinical skills.

The launch and a demonstration on 28 September were reported by Engineering News, which said the university had highlighted the cost of repeated journeys to receive treatment. Travelling back to collect spectacles can add transport costs and take patients away from work or school.

UJ vice-chancellor Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi said at the launch that bringing university services to patients would help address those access barriers, according to the publication.

The new vehicle builds on the optometry department’s existing outreach work. TimesLIVE reported that the department held 53 outreach initiatives during 2025, examining about 5,520 patients and providing 1,038 pairs of spectacles free of charge.

That earlier model could leave a delay between an examination in a community and the subsequent manufacture and delivery of spectacles elsewhere.

TimesLIVE also reported that SAMCT trustee Shabir Chohan proposed expanding the model nationally. The trust said it would explore partnerships with other faculties and donors to develop the initiative further.

Sources: University of Johannesburg; Engineering News; TimesLIVE.