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Helping to tackle avoidable blindness in West Africa through training.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 90% of blind people live in developing countries yet 80% of those affected suffer needlessly because their blindness is treatable and/or preventable. Indeed, the restoration of sight, and blindness prevention strategies are among the most cost-effective interventions in health care.
Increasing the numbers of adequately trained eye-care personnel is integral to tackling this problem. Lord Crisp in his report ‘Global Health Partnerships – The UK contribution to health in developing countries’ which was published in 2007, acknowledged that “The single most common request I heard, however, throughout Africa in particular was for assistance with education and training staff of all kind”.
Moorfields has a long history of involvement in research and training in Africa. Reflecting the teaching and training aspect of its mission statement, the hospital has recently initiated a fundraising campaign to assist efforts to find a solution to avoidable blindness across West Africa, where there are an estimated 2.6m people blind. The hospital is committed to developing an integrated eye unit and surgical training that is to be based at the main teaching hospital in Ghana’s capital Accra, as a means of addressing the dire need that exists for surgical training to be available locally. This unique facility will enable eye specialists from across West Africa to be trained, for example, in safe and high volume surgery which is desperately needed to help eliminate cataract blindness or to deliver sight saving treatments for people with glaucoma and trachoma, in addition to many other eye diseases.
The West African College of Surgeons (WACS) is taking the lead in developing a needs-based strategy for surgical training across the sub-region. Two week residential courses will provide extensive hands-on training for a single operative procedure in sub-specialist subjects such as cataract, glaucoma and lid surgery. Where facilities exist for surgeons to return and undertake the procedures locally, training will be given in vitreo-retinal and other more specialist surgical areas.
Moorfields is working in partnership with the Lions Clubs International, as well as with a number of local organisations and other stakeholders who are committed to helping establish the centre and ensure its ongoing success. Approximately 75% of the £3m fundraising goal to develop this facility and meet the costs associated with fundraising has been raised, thanks largely to commitments from the Lions Clubs International, the Ulverscroft Foundation, the Kirby Laing Foundation, Vision Aid Overseas and a collective pledge from the private sector in Ghana. It is hoped that construction can commence during the summer of next year, assuming a successful completion of their fundraising campaign.
Our hope is that this unique facility will be the catalyst for raising the standard of eye care, increasing the number of properly trained eye-care personnel and their productivity, helping to significantly reduce blindness across West Africa.