Himalayan Cataract Project 2016 Annual Report
It is with great pleasure that we share this 2016 Annual Report with you. Together with our partners, in 2016 we provided 130 training opportunities and reached over 1.1 million people with screening and basic treatment - including 97,700 sight-restoring surgeries. Your assistance made these successes possible.
Twenty-two years ago, we set out to deliver high-quality eye care in remote areas of the world, where it is most needed, with local ophthalmic teams that we have trained and equipped. Thanks to you and our remarkable network of collaborating institutions and individuals, we have supported the examination and treatment of over 7.3 million people and provided more than 624,000 sight-restoring surgeries in this time. We have our sights set on continued growth and expanded impact.
In 2016, all of our major partners increased the amount of eye care they provided over previous periods, and we continue to increase the number of ophthalmic trainees that we support each year. In Nepal, our flagship partner –Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology – not only rebounded from the devastating 2015 earthquakes, but exceeded previous performance, increasing the number of clinical and training programs, and continued to make its mark on eye care in South Asia through programs in Bhutan, Myanmar, India and Indonesia. In Ethiopia, working with the Ministry of Health and 9 implementing partners nationwide, our partners provided over 47,000 surgeries, with 25% of these cases provided in outreach settings. Together, we worked to reduce the backlog of ~600,000 Ethiopians needlessly blind from cataract. In Ghana, we are expanding our partnerships, increasing the number of surgeries provided through outreach cataract events and working to strengthen ophthalmology residency training programs.
By working with our tremendous network of partners and strengthening capacity at the local level, we believe that we can eliminate avoidable blindness and that we can do so within our lifetime. We cannot thank you enough for the support you have provided to make our work possible. On behalf of all of the Board, Staff and program partners, thank you.
