The state of eye care in Africa stands in alarming contrast to that in the rest of the world. Poor practitioner-to-patient ratios, absence of eye-care personnel, inadequate facilities, poor state funding and a lack of educational programs has lead to preventable and treatable conditions being the leading cause of blindness throughout Africa. In Kenya there are an estimated 300,000 blind people (0.7% of the population). Of the 300,000 people living with blindness in Kenya, approximately 43% are affected by cataracts, with an added annual incidence rate of more than 14,500 new cases annually.
Muslim Aid Australia (MAA) and local partner NGO, Horn of African Relief and Development Agency (HARDA) are implementing a project that will reduce the prevalence of blindness by treating preventable blindness in isolated and poverty stricken nomadic communities in arid and isolated parts of Kenya. This will be achieved by the development of eye care facilities and the training of local eye care practitioners. Through the project MAA hopes to contribute directly to improving the quality of life of these individuals and to improving the overall economic, social and health conditions for them, their families and communities.
Specific project aims:
- Reduce the prevalence of preventable blindness in targeted communities;
- Increase the number of people in rural and nomadic communities in Kenya who have access to eye care screening, treatment and cataract surgery;
- Develop the eye care screening and treatment skills of medical staff in targeted rural communities;
- Develop the skills of eye surgery theatre and support staff in Garissa Provisional Referral Hospital;
- Build the capacity of local communities to identify eye care screening, treatment and surgical barriers, to develop improved curative and preventive strategies, and to manage services and facilities implemented by the project;
- Increase community awareness about eye care, cataracts and cataract treatment options delivered by this project and the associated risks through the promotion of community eye health education, training, and screening programs;
- Develop a model of service delivery to meet the needs of the rural population with a comprehensive method of eye care delivery addressing the existing inequalities among the tribal communities and rural population.
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