The Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP) in partnership with the USAID has cut sod in Cape Coast to commence the building of an ultra-modern eye surgical and training Centre for the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
The Centre, when completed within 18 months, will provide free and excellent eye care services for Ghanaians and also help in the eradication of blindness in the country.
Himalayan cataract project is an American NGO that has been working in Ghana since 2006, supporting the Ghana health service and partners with regional hospitals.
The Country Representative of the Himalayan Cataract Project for Ghana, Dr. James Addy noted that the facility will help address the barrier issues Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians go through in accessing eye-care services.
He acknowledged the Cape Coast Teaching hospital, its management, and clinical team “for being outstanding partners over the last three years”.
‘When HCP cure blindness partners with an institution, they provide whatever they can to minimize the barriers that prevent Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians living in Ghana from accessing eye-care services,” he said.
He further noted that the project is modeled to attract medical students and this will help strengthen the national cataract outreach programme which is an intervention for clearing Ghana’s cataract backlog.
He explained further saying “we realized that the equivalent of blindness in Ghana is 0.74 percent. Meaning that when we take the population of Ghana, 0.74 percent are blind, and that is only for those who are blind and over 1.1 percent are still in severe visual impairments. Over 45 thousand cataract surgeries have been performed. At end of May 2022, about six thousand surgeries had so been done and we are hoping to improve on last year’s 12 thousand surgeries.”
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, on her part, urged the public to take it upon themselves to ensure the sustenance of the project by donating. She added that the government is committed to providing the infrastructural needs of the hospital.
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Source: Abigail Adu Amoakowaah & Linda Amakye Adjei/ATLFMNEWS
