Izumi Foundation

In June, the Himalayan Cataract Project received a two year grant to implement a combined cataract and trachoma (“TT+”) program with partners at Arba Minch and Quiha Zonal Hospitals. The project will support ophthalmic nurses to provide Trachoma Trichiasis (TT) surgery to those in need in conjunction with planned cataract outreach events (TT + cataract = TT+). According to the latest studies in Ethiopia, cataracts are responsible for 49.9% of blindness in the country, and trachoma is responsible for 11%.

The initiative was developed to help HCP’s partners in Ethiopia provide services to those arriving at planned cataract screenings with a variety of non-cataract eye ailments including trachoma. HCP will implement the TT+ program with partners in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' (SNNP) Region and Tigray Region during 20 outreach events from July 2018 through June 2020.

HCP Country Representative, Dr. Liknaw Adamu welcomed this project as an important next step in providing fully integrated eye care in rural areas. With the anticipation of supporting the screening of 38,100 patients, providing 12,700 cataract surgeries and 1,000 TT surgeries through this program over the next two years, HCP hopes to expand support for TT+ to other partners in Ethiopia in the coming years.

The Izumi Foundation is founded on the principles of demonstrating compassion, concern for others and altruism. The foundation helps alleviate suffering through the development and support of programs that improve health and healthcare in neglected regions of Africa and Latin America.