Retinopathy of prematurity prevention, screening and treatment programmes: Progress in South America.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is the main cause of blindness and visual impairment in Latin America and prevention, detection and treatment have been a priority in the Region in the last two decades. There is progress in the number of eligible babies screened and treated in at least half of the countries with strong regulations on ROP, but screening is not yet available in all provinces in most. More effort is needed to increase national protocols and legislation, strengthening of services and human resources to cover all national provinces; telemedicine might be a promising strategy.