Alberto Lazo Legua had an unconventional start in the eye care world; he was hired as a civil engineer to build Clinica Oftalmologica Divino Niño Jesús (DNJ) eye hospital in Lima, Peru. In 2003, the NGO Asociación Civil Divino Niño Jesús was awarded a grant by CBM to build an eye hospital on the outskirts of Lima to bring high-quality eye care to more people in need. It was at that time that Alberto first met Mrs. María Julia Gupio de Asmat, the president and co-founder of DNJ. She brought him on board as an engineer, not realizing that his investment in DNJ would not end with the completion of the building.

After working closely with DNJ staff during construction, Alberto was hired as the hospital’s Executive Director. Today, he and his team work to provide high quality eye care to Peruvians in need. While overseeing the construction of the hospital, Alberto simultaneously earned a degree in business administration and had shared his interest in hospital management with DNJ staff. In 2006, CBM and DNJ sponsored his travel to a management training course at Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology in Madurai, India. Alberto returned from India and launched his new career as DNJ’s Executive Director.

Since 2006, Alberto and the DNJ leadership team, have been a driving force in eliminating needless blindness in Peru. DNJ directs outreach activities in and around the Lima area and conducts surgical camps in 7 states of Peru. Under Alberto’s guidance, DNJ has undertaken the construction of a new outreach hospital in the Iquitos region of Peru, started a new residency program for Ophthalmologists, as well as a formal training program for Allied Ophthalmic Personnel. Alberto also advise larger initiatives and studies by working with Peru’s national blindness prevention counsel. Always striving to do more, Alberto and his team joined forces with staff from International Eye Foundation and Visualiza Clínica Médica Oftalmológica, based in Guatemala, to build the capacity of other eye hospitals in Peru and the surrounding Latin America region. In 2015, DNJ joined the Global Sight Initiative as a mentor hospital, working to increase access to high-quality and affordable eye care at their new outreach hospital in Iquitos and two additional hospitals in Peru.

Certifications:

• International Certificate of Basic English: Certificate of the University of Cambridge
• International Certificate of Advanced English: Certificate of the University of Cambridge
• 2001: Auto CAD 2000 – Centro de Computo FIC- UNI
• 2003: Microsoft Project 2000 – Centro de Computo FIC – UNI
• 2004: Technical in Administration – EIGER, Lima Perú.
• 2005: Management Training and Systems Development for Hospital Administrators – Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology, Madurai India.
• 2009-2011: Certification of Specialization in Administration – ESAN, Lima Perú.
• 2010-2012: Certification of Specialization in Finances – ESAN, Lima Perú.
• 2012-2013: International Diploma in Project Management – ESAN, Lima Perú.
• 2013: International Diploma in Health Management – ESAN, Lima Perú.
• 2018: Diploma in Formalization and Categorization of Institutions in Health Services – ESAN, Lima Peru.