In 2019, the World Health Organization launched the World Report on Vision. The first report of its kind, it laid out a comprehensive global strategy directed towards addressing global inequalities in access to eye health care and service provision. The report found that 2.2 billion people suffer from vision impairment globally, but nearly half of those cases could have been prevented or have yet to be addressed. In many cases, a pair of eyeglasses or a simple surgery can correct vision impairment. Yet for many – especially those in developing countries, those in rural areas, and women and girls – these simple solutions are out of reach.  

On August 4, 2020, a new World Health Assembly resolution was adopted by the 194 member states of the World Health Organization. The integrated people-centered eye care (IPEC) resolution, which was sponsored by 45 countries, is a political commitment to advancing eye health care as part of universal health care. The World Report on Vision estimated that the number of people living with blindness could triple by 2050, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic strained health care systems even further.  

Operation Eyesight welcomes the new resolution and is pleased to note that its recommendation to focus on people-centered eye care is an approach that we are already taking in our service provision. Operation Eyesight is thrilled to see that eye health is being recognized as a key component of overall health and well-being and not just a peripheral health issue. The IPEC resolution is a compelling confirmation of how crucial our mission is, now more than ever. 

Although the COVID-19 health crisis has captured the world’s attention, the global eye health crisis has not diminished – it’s been exacerbated. As COVID-19 spreads around the world, it is continuing to strain health care resources in each of the countries where we work. As a result, it remains a challenge to our eye health programs. Operation Eyesight pivoted our day-to-day tasks to respond to COVID-19, but that did not detract from our focus. Our intent in supporting health care systems was to facilitate their ability to resume the provision of eye health services as soon as possible.  

 Operation Eyesight is working towards promoting a safe environment to start implementing our regular outreach activities, including re-launching community interventions, establishing new vision centres, and implementing new technologies such as telehealth. We have exciting plans to bring affordable, sustainable, quality eye health care to more people than ever before. COVID-19 has changed our day-to-day activities this year, but it has not changed our focus. We remain committed to ensuring entire communities are avoidable blindness-free. 

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How is Operation Eyesight combating blinding trachoma in Kenya? Dr. Steve Mukiri, an ophthalmologist at the Narok District Hospital, reports on the local war against trachoma. (Read Part 1.)

Before any Mass Drug Administration (MDA) exercise can kick off, our teams conduct intensive planning, lobbying and resource mobilization.

The International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) requisitions in advance the trachoma antibiotic medication from Pfizer, with specific quantities calculated by the district pharmacist. Drugs are collected from Nairobi and transported to sentinel sites for easy access. Meanwhile, public education is conducted in the community before beginning the activity, along with recruiting and training field personnel.

Once everything is organized and scheduled, the MDA exercise begins. Each division is tackled separately in order to maximize field staff and supervision by the eye unit team and district health team. Field tallying and data input is done while in the field. Laptops are crucial, as many places have no electricity.

While the circumstances remain challenging, we are happy to report that logistics and travel have become easier. In 2012, Operation Eyesight donors funded a new 4×4 vehicle for our eye health program, which has contributed to the great success of the MDAs. The rugged Toyota Hilux can handle the rough roads, so now supervisory teams can move easily across the harsh terrain, and field staff can move to needy areas to complete tasks quickly and effectively.

Prior to receiving the new vehicle, movement was difficult, expensive and unreliable. Any movement of the eye care team required us to borrow a vehicle from another department. Whenever we borrowed a vehicle, a promise to service it, repair or replace a certain part was coerced out of us, which sometimes puts us in a tight spot. Dipping into our own pockets was becoming the norm for the program to succeed!

We are very grateful for the Canadian Auto Workers’ generous donation of the vehicle to Narok. It has really motivated us and eased the difficulty and stress of running the eye care program. The residents of Narok really benefit from its presence; and if they are happy, so are we! We recently completed the fifth division out of the six MDAs and the trend is impressive. We are optimistic that we shall surpass last year’s record.

Special thanks to Dr. Steve Mukiri for his report. Operation Eyesight greatly appreciates the Canadian Auto Workers union and their Social Justice Fund. By funding this much-needed vehicle, you are helping make possible a victory against trachoma in Narok!

The post Mobilization! The war against trachoma (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

This week, we present the first of a two-part story about the ongoing battle against blinding trachoma, a terrible infectious disease that is one of the leading causes of avoidable blindness globally. The World Health Organization, together with partners like Operation Eyesight and local Ministries of Health, has invested huge resources into eliminating trachoma by the year 2020. Dr. Steve Mukiri, an ophthalmologist at the Narok District Hospital in Kenya, recently sent us this report about the local war against trachoma.

In Kenya, Narok is one of the districts where trachoma is endemic. The Narok program is a comprehensive one that encompasses all four elements of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control: Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotic distribution, Face washing, provision of water and personal hygiene and lastly Environmental improvement, which includes latrines, safe waste disposal and health education.

Narok district recently conducted its fifth round of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) exercise for the elimination of trachoma. It involves giving Zithromax®, an antibiotic which has been shown to be highly effective against the bacteria that causes trachoma, to all residents of the district. The antibiotic is donated free of charge by its manufacturer Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI).

The MDA exercises are gruelling and fraught with challenges, ranging from treacherous terrain, poor road conditions, vast sparsely-inhabited areas, extreme weather conditions, and human-wildlife conflict. The exercise requires our teams to move long distances to reach families and individuals in their manyattas (households), schools and markets, in order to maximize every opportunity to give residents the antibiotic.

Come back next week to learn how the teams prepare for “battle,” and why our donors’ support is so vital in the war against trachoma!

The post Mobilization! The war against trachoma (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

To answer that, picture a tribal woman in a remote part of India, who is going blind from cataracts. She’s a poor woman who knows if she can’t see she can’t work; and if she can’t work, she doesn’t eat. The woman knows there is an eye clinic not too far away that can fix her eyes free of charge. But she doesn’t go.

Why not? Because she knows people with similar problems who have gone to that clinic, and came back worse than before. The woman may be poor, but she’s no fool. She would rather live with the grey fog of cataract-clouded vision than risk being permanently blinded, or in pain due to a botched surgery.

Throughout India and other countries with large populations of low income people, this scenario plays out over and over. Cataract is the main cause of avoidable blindness everywhere, affecting millions of people; yet cataracts are relatively easy and inexpensive to correct.

Many charitable eye clinics, in their efforts to restore sight to cataract sufferers, have been pushing people through the system for years. Medical teams cut corners and take chances that would be unthinkable in other countries. The emphasis on quantity (instead of quality) translates into failed surgeries. It’s still happening today. Many hospitals that offer free treatment to the poor receive their funding based on the number of people they treat, instead of how many people get healed.

In 2003, a landmark research project studied the impact of all those cataract surgeries. It confirmed that yes, cataract was the number one cause of blindness – about 50 percent of all cases. Cause number two? Failed cataract surgeries.

This news landed with a thud throughout the international eye care community. I can tell you how Operation Eyesight responded: we resolved to place quality among our top priorities. We communicated this expectation to our medical partners, and lost some who were unwilling to work towards our goals in the process. Since then, we have invested in upgrades to facilities, training, equipment and procedures. While this is still a work in progress in some regions, we are working with all of our hospital partners to achieve World Health Organization (WHO) standards in surgical outcomes – the same as in Canada, where I live.

But there’s more! Quality is not just about best practices; it’s about how we regard the people who need our help – people like that same tribal woman I mentioned earlier. Come back on June 8 when I’ll describe what we see when we look through her eyes. And learn more about our approach to quality in our Spring 2012 newsletter, “No compromise: Quality is key to achieving sustainable development.”

The post We must see through their eyes (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Operation Eyesight.