Arclight Project Update

.St Andrews Rotary Club members were inspired a few years ago by a presentation to the Club by Dr Andrew Blaikie, Senior Lecturer in Ophthalmology at St Andrews University.  Andrew was also a main part of the University Global Health team.

He explained the development of a new solar powered, ultra low-cost ophthalmoscope and otoscope called “Arclight”.

This robust small device can empower health care workers in low-income countries to perform comprehensive eye and ear examinations in remote areas to reduce needless disability.  Like most diseases, early diagnosis can save serious future treatments.  Arclight devices make this early diagnosis of eye and ear problems possible.

St Andrews Rotary Club decided to raise funds to help St Andrews University Global Health Team supply Arclight devices to Malawi.

Fund raising events by the Rotary Club included a “Look Who’s Talking” interview of Scottish Rugby coach, Gregor Townsend (photo), in the University School of Medicine main lecture theatre, where almost 300 members of the public were introduced to Arclight.  St Andrews Rotary Club’s annual International Rotary Golf Tournament for 300 Rotarians from over 20 countries also raise substantial funds with raffle donations.  This publicised Arclight to a wide international audience of Rotarians.

Some small fundraising was also done by the University based Rotaract Club which was chartered by St Andrews Rotary Club 12 years ago for students at the University.  This Rotaract club, with supervision of the Rotary Club, has organised internships for students to help less fortunate youngsters in India and Africa.

St Andrews Rotary Club raised over $20k for Arclight which encouraged them to make an application for a Rotary International Grant.  After many difficulties in finding the required partner Rotary club in Malawi, a grant of $16k was obtained from Rotary International, linked to a further $20k from Rotary District 1010 (Scotland North).  This took a few years to finalise properly, with formalisation of MOUs with St Andrews University and Kumasu University of Health Sciences, in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Dr Blaikie started the 4-year supply and training programme in October 2024.  It is hoped to supply 3500 devices and train 3000 student doctors and health workers who will use their devices in their studies and future work for many years.  This sustainable system of training and equipping student doctors over a period of years means that early diagnosis of diseases such as Glaucoma, Trachoma and Cataract will make a huge difference for eye treatments of the Malawi population for years to come.

St Andrews Rotary will supervise this programme for the life of the grant aided period. 

The partnership with the Rotary Club of Lilongwe City Centre and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi, together with St Andrews University and St Andrews Rotary Club is a unique co-operation which will change lives in Malawi.

Recently St Andrews Rotary Club offered Corporate Membership status to St Andrews Medical Innovations Ltd which is based at St Andrews University site at Walter Bower House, Guardbridge. 

Little did we think when St Andrews University developed the old papermill site at Guardbridge, that it would now be changing lives of the population of Malawi.

The ongoing relationship of St Andrews Rotary Club with St Andrews Medical Innovations Ltd on their work with Arclight, is an excellent example of Town and Gown co-operation.