VIDIS Association / The
Phacokit Project
Gambia, Benin, Guinea
Bissau, Senegal
Prevention of
Cataract-Related Blindness
Blindness affects approximately 1
in every 100 persons in most sub-Saharan African countries. It
worsens the already poor socio-economic situation of the individual
and impacts negatively on the status of the other family members,
including the education of the children who have to take care of
affected relatives.
Blindness is often caused by
cataract and even if it is not preventable or avoidable in almost
all cases, cataract can be surgically treated with instant
restoration of sight. Cataract surgery is one of the most
cost-effective public health interventions nowadays.
The new technique of suture-less
intra-ocular lens cataract surgery, also known as
"phacoalternative", is an efficient method, with very good visual
outcome and it is well suited for high volume cataract surgery
needs. It is expected that by teaching this new technique to
cataract surgeons as well as ophthalmologists and providing them
with adequate tools, the volume of surgery could be more than
doubled in a short period of time. This increase would begin to
impact on the backlog of people awaiting cataract intervention,
eventually contributing to its elimination.
In cooperation with the West
African Health Organisation, Association Vidis aims at training
local eye surgeons and at setting up mobile "eye camps" throughout
the four African countries where state-of-the-art and safe cataract
surgery to some 250 patients can be undertaken over a couple of
days.
The Trafigura Foundation decided to
support this pilot project in 2009 by bearing the cost of 1000
Phacokits, a single-use surgery pack for operating cataract in
outreach field conditions away from hospitals.
In 2010, the donation of the Foundation allows 3000 operations.
Click here to watch the
phacokit project video.
Click on any picture to view the gallery