International Outreach

The University of Kentucky Global Ophthalmology (UK GO) program partners with institutions around the world to strengthen eye care systems through education, collaboration, and sustainable capacity building. Our global sites are not short-term mission locations — they are long-standing academic partnerships grounded in mutual respect, local leadership, and shared goals.

Across Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America, we work alongside local ophthalmologists, residency programs, and clinical teams to expand access to high-quality eye care. These collaborations focus on workforce development, residency training, curriculum reform, clinical mentorship, implementation science, and locally driven research. Through structured rotations, UK GO residents engage in supervised, service-oriented learning experiences that emphasize ethical global engagement, health systems strengthening, and bidirectional exchange.

From supporting residency education in Haiti, to partnering with national eye care leaders in Eswatini, to collaborating on clinical training and research at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, and strengthening access to care in rural Guatemala, each site reflects our commitment to sustainable impact.