Celebrating World Sight Day in Ghana
On October 14th, HCP observed World Sight Day 2021 with a cataract outreach in Cape Coast, Ghana. The event, performed in coordination with Ghana Health Services, provided training for new surgeons to increase local access to high-quality eye care and provided 599 sight-restoring surgeries.
Performing the surgeries and training were three surgeons from HCP partner, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital: Drs. Benedicta Appiah-Thompson, Sylvia Brookman and Sarpong Abebrese; along with surgeons from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH): Drs. Doreen Frimpong and Amos Aikins. Two ophthalmologists from KATH also assisted with eye screenings. The successful outreach is testament to the value of training ophthalmic professionals to serve their local communities.
The outreach event and surgical training were made possible thanks to support from HCP donors. Your compassionate generosity has an immediate impact on the lives of those receiving care.
For 67-year-old Kofi Mensah, quality eye care had been hard to come by. He'd spent the last four years having problems with his eye. After surgery, he remarked, “I am grateful for the opportunity to undergo this surgery and as the patch has been removed, I can notice an improvement in my vision. I am grateful to the team of doctors.”
Rebecca Okyere also began having problems with her eyes four years ago.
“It felt like there were sand particles in my eyes. It really disturbed me and when I visited the hospital, the doctor said I needed surgery, but it was too expensive for me. It was great news when I heard about this outreach program. When the surgery was performed, they covered my eye with the patch so I couldn't see. The patch has been removed today and I can see better than before. I am so happy that I didn't go blind so I can continue to sell my porridge and not depend on my relatives to take care of me.”
For the 36 million worldwide who are living with unnecessary blindness, their lives are needlessly limited. But for Rebecca and Kofi, and the hundreds of others who benefited from the outreach event and will benefit from training efforts that will improve local access to eye care, the course of their lives is now changed for the better.
