New Strategic Plan Will Transform Access to Eye Care Across Ethiopia
Cure Blindness Project worked with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health to develop and draft the country’s...
We are in the exciting process of expanding our eye-care infrastructure beyond our Community Eye Centers through the construction and support of Community Eye Hospitals — surgical facilities with at least one full-time ophthalmologist on staff and a full team of eye care professionals.
The ideal model for this level of infrastructure is the Hetauda Community Eye Hospital (HCEH) in the Terai region of Nepal, approximately five hours southwest from Kathmandu. HCEH has a staff of 32, with two full-time ophthalmologists on site. The hospital is engaged in extensive outreach work and serves as a training site for Tilganga’s Cataract Surgery Training Program. Since Cure Blindness Project began investing in Hetauda in 2009, the number of surgeries there has more than doubled, to more than 4,000 surgeries per year. In 2015, the Hetauda Community Eye Hospital provided more than 52,000 outreach screenings.
EXPANDING FOR THE FUTURE
Hetauda is in the process of adding patient housing and, with support from USAID/ASHA and other sources, has committed to expanding on-campus housing for staff and visiting faculty. Sub-specialists from Tilganga and other partners visit frequently to provide lectures to resident staff and specialty services to patients.
SUPPORT OUR LONG-TERM GOAL
Your support of our work at Hetauda and in building other Community Eye Hospitals will help provide critically-needed care to those who would likely otherwise go untreated simply for want of a tertiary-care eye hospital within traveling distance. The expansion of our Community Eye Hospital model is a key part of our long-term goal of creating accessible, sustainable eye care systems throughout the developing world.
PROSPECTIVE COMMUNITY EYE HOSPITAL SITES
