World Sight Day commemorated
Patients with cataracts currently have a waiting period of about seven months at the Windhoek Central Hospital’s Eye Clinic.A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye. The patients awaiting surgery are often legally blind due to their advanced cataracts. For people who have cataracts, seeing through cloudy lenses is a bit like looking through a frosty or fogged-up window and if it isn’t treated, it will inevitably become vision-threatening and impact their quality of life.
In light of World Sight Day, a global initiative focusing the world’s attention on the importance of eye care, the sector is called to ensure eyecare is accessible, inclusive and affordable to everyone, everywhere.
An essential part of cataract surgery is an intraocular lens. The Olympia Eye & Laser Centre has pledged N$30 000 towards supplying stock of this essential medical implant needed during the sight-enabling procedure commonly performed in ophthalmology. This amounts to about 250 to 300 eyes that can be operated at the Eye Clinic of the Windhoek Central Hospital. At this clinic, an average of 1 500 cataract procedures are performed annually. In addition, 300 to 450 patients per outreach camp of which 6 took place in the north of Namibia during the year.
You, too, can change someone’s life on World Sight Day. The international agency for the prevention of blindness (IAPD) recommends the following ways to get involved on this World Sight Day:
• Encourage your organisation or board members to get their eyes tested
• Start a social challenge, get your eyes checked and pass on an eye exam to a colleague, friend or family member
• Encourage the elders in your family to get an eye exam
• Encourage parents to get their children’s vision tested
• Sponsor an eye exam for your employees (https://www.iapb.org/world-sight-day/pledging-tool/)
For further information, contact Simone van Wyk at OELC at (061) 372 600.