Help Age roll-out free eye cataract surgery in Gweru
By Dumisani Ndlovu
Help Age Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care Christian, Blind Mission UK, and UKAID , has launched a free eye cataract surgery program in Gweru, Midlands Province, through a series of eye camps.
The initiative, dubbed the ‘Inclusive Eye Program’, aims to benefit 450 individuals in Gweru and a total of 3,363 people across the province. Eye camps are designed to provide high volume, high quality and low-cost eye care to vulnerable people.
According to Munyaradzi Zivurawa, Project Coordinator for Help Age Zimbabwe, this program is set to transform the lives of many, providing a vital service to those in need.
“We are basically here to provide an eye camp. The program is being funded and supported by CBMG UK and UK Aid to conduct these eye camps in order to try and reduce the number of people with visual impairment in the Midlands Province. As Help Age Zimbabwe you would realise that our key primary focus are elderly people. Some of the challenges faced by older persons are to do with eye challenges,” he said.
Help Age project coordinator emphasized the organization’s commitment to expanding the program’s reach, with the ultimate goal of significantly reducing avoidable blindness. By scaling up the initiative, Zivurawa said Help Age aims to make a profound impact on the lives of many more individuals, restoring their vision and transforming their futures
In this Gweru eye camp, he said in terms of cataract services they are targeting 100 people, in terms of refraction we intend to reach 50 people services more than 50 Midlands 3363
The clear spoken Zivurawa further highlighted that while cataracts are more commonly associated with aging, they can also affect younger individuals, albeit less frequently.
“Fortunately, cataracts are treatable through surgery, which is why we’re dedicated to providing this service to those in need. By doing so, we hope to restore vision and improve the quality of life for many individuals, particularly among the elderly community where cataracts are most prevalent,” he said.
