Thanks to Your Kindness, Sight-Restoring Surgeries Have Resumed in Bhutan
Thanks to so many of you who gave to our matching campaign in June, Himalayan Cataract Project is able to support our partners in Bhutan as they resume eye care and surgical outreach.
As with most of the countries where HCP works, Bhutan suspended all but emergency eye care at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant thousands of Bhutanese waiting to regain their sight had to wait even longer.
By virtue of its isolation, Bhutan has had a low incidence of COVID-19 cases and has had no virus-related deaths. With safety precautions in place, our partners in Bhutan are resuming cataract surgeries slowly and carefully, attending to patients in smaller numbers to reduce the risk of infection to patients and providers.
Two outreaches were held simultaneously during the second week in June:
- Tsirang Hospital (central Bhutan - 41 Total Surgeries)
- Lhuentse Hospital (eastern Bhutan - 16 total surgeries)
Because of you, 57 grateful people may now resume their lives, work and care for their families free of the burden of blindness. Many more will follow. Additional outreach events at Trongsa Hospital and Tashigang will take place in July, and in Phuntsholing later this year.
It is the goal of our partners in Bhutan that all 20 districts in the country will have an eye camp providing cataract surgical services by December. They anticipate completing 760cataract surgeries over 13 outreach events by the end of 2020.
You provide hope to so many needlessly blind people waiting to regain their sight. Thank you for your commitment to the people of Bhutan, and for empowering our partners to adapt and succeed in a changing global healthcare landscape.
