MOZAMBIQUE - New steps in blindness prevention

Dr. Assegid Aga informs the Austrian State Secretary for Finance Christoph Matznetter about strategies of blindness prevention in Mozambique

LIGHT FOR THE WORLD currently supports 6 projects in the area of blindness prevention in Mozambique. The first pioneering project in cooperation with a government hospital was begun in 2003 with Central Hospital Beira in Sofala, a province with about 1,6 million inhabitants and covering 68000 km². Recently during a visit to Beira the Austrian State Secretary for Finance stated that: “The eye unit in Beira is a perfect example of the concrete and sustainable aid effort which Austrian NGOs with support from the Austrian Development Cooperation achieve in cooperation with local partners.”

Since October 2007 the Ethiopian Ophthalmologist Dr. Assegid Aga has been working in Beira. Last year 22,690 patients visited the clinic for consultations and when necessary were operated on. This year an increased focus is put on reaching patients in other areas of the Sofala province, as most people cannot afford the trip to town.
About 24 outreach trips are planned, in places which often lie several hundred kilometres from the Central Hospital. A short while ago Dr. Assegid completed his first one week surgical outreach in the Muxungue region: in a week 858 patients were treated and 58 cataract operations were conducted in the field.

Dr. Assegid Aga and Dr. Margarida Chagunda in Beira.

New hope through Mozambican Ophthalmologist

In order to further advance blindness prevention programs in Mozambique more human resources, like ophthalmologists as well as ophthalmic clinical officers, are needed in the country. For LIGHT FOR THE WORLD the training and appointment of local specialist staff is essential. The project in Beira is lucky in so much as that Dr. Margarida Chagunda began her work in Beira in May. So far she is the second Mozambican ophthalmologist to leave the capital Maputo for a province! Certainly under Dr. Margarida the cooperation with the local health authorities will be intensified and the trust the local population puts into the eye unit’s services will increase further.

Elisa Antonio finally does not suffer from pain any more! Her eyesight was saved!

This trust is built through cases like Elisa Antonio who lives with her family in Muanza, a village in the bush. With her husband Ricardo, Elisa tends the fields and runs the household of 6 children. But for several years Elisa’s eyes have troubled her, they were inflamed and hurt. The right eye was especially painful: the lid turned inwards and the eyelashes were rubbing against the cornea. In addition to the pain her eyesight was deteriorating. Then the family heard that an ophthalmologist was coming to a clinic near Muanza. During the outreach she was diagnosed with Trachoma. Elisa was operated on the next day! Finally her pain ended and her eyesight was saved. She was elated to return home and see her kids again.