Eye specialists from the US and Ghana are performing free eye operations on 600 patients with eye defects in a free cataract surgery project.

The free cataract surgery project is a partnership between the Himataya Cataract Project (HCP), an American Non-Governmental Organisation, Ghana Health Service and the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH).

A total of 423 eye sights had been restored since March and urged people with the condition to take advantage of the exercise to have their eye sights restored.

Among the many to have already have their sight restored, is sixteen-year old Leticia Vidza from Cape Coast who lost her sight four years ago, resulting in the curtailment of her education, has had her sight restored.

Recalling her predicament, she said; “It all started in school, I could not see from afar. My parents did their best, sending me to hospitals but my condition worsened until I went totally bind. I am very excited and I can’t wait to see my friends”.

Similarly, 70 year-old Hawa Issaka who had been blind for the last seven years of her life could not hide her joy as she expressed gratitude to the doctors and nurses and the organisers for the kind gesture.

Country Representative of HCP, Dr. Oscar Debrah, said over 1,000 patients were screened in Cape Coast and its nehgbouring communities but some of the patients failed to turn up out of fear for the surgery.

He said a national blindness research conducted in 2015 on the rate of blindness in the country, indicated that, about 0.7 per cent of people were blind and that about 54 percent of the population had cataracts, adding that people were at the risk of developing cataracts as they aged.

Country Medical Coordinator for HCP, Dr. John Welling stated, “there are many people who are needlessly blind, they don’t need to be blind. Cataract can be treated within 10 minutes of surgery and cause less than $25 or GHS120 and so there is no reason for people to live and die blind hence the decision to intervene.”

Dr. Welling said the HCP was working to overcome barriers impeding delivery of cataract care to under-served, needy blind people in the developing world.

He indicated that HCP was committed to skills-transfer and ability to provide high-quality surgical care in remote settings, reaching patients who would never make it to the hospital.

Chief Executive Officer of CCTH, Dr. Eric Ngyedu, said the exercise formed part of a Memorandum of Understanding between the hospital and the HCP with a concurrent strategy to provide high-quality care, train local personnel and ultimately establish a world-class eye care infrastructure.

He revealed, “it is important we are doing this now because it falls within our next four-year strategic plan, that is to get an eye centre for the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.”