The objective of this paper is to assess the with respect to access to eye care services in The Gambia. More specifically in this paper, the scorecard assesses the level at which people have access to eye care services. The research employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings disclosed that in the Gambia, majority of eye care service centers are in the urban areas which leaves the rural dwellers with no choice but to travel long distances to access eye care services facilities. According to the findings of the FGDs, greater majority of the population expressed concern about the inadequacy of health services, which adversely affected access. This is further frustrated by the poor road conditions in the country outside of the Greater Banjul Area, especially in the North Bank Regions of River Gambia and the high cost of transportation to access services. Poor road conditions, inadequate eye care facilities and personnel made access very difficult with its associated requirements in the rural areas. This has prompted many rural communities’ recourse to alternative sources of care including traditional healers and patent medicine sellers. The study revealed that over 80% of the respondents reported that the nearest eye care services are accessed through hospitals and clinics. This is a demonstration that access to eye care services are generally at hospitals and clinics but not specialized eye care centers. Majority of households (80%) have access to formal eye care services as opposed to only 19.8 not having access to formal eye care services. The findings of both the quantitative and FGD revealed that cost is considered another bottleneck to access to eye care service in the country especially to rural communities. Based on the findings, practical implications and an agenda for future research are suggested. For instance, the study recommends: improving the road networks, constructing more vision centers not only in urban and peri-urban center but also in rural communities. Additionally, facilities and specialist in eye care related services can be provided at health facilities across the country to provide the muchneeded eye care services to rural communities.
