Urgent Appeal to Support Cataract Programs in Africa

Blindness is debilitating, particularly in the developing world. This project will help restore sight to one thousand (1000) individual’s blind patients in Africa with their sight regained, they will return to work and contribute to their families’ income. 

Cataract is a medical condition in which the lens of the eye became progressively opaque, resulting in blurring of vision. It has been estimated that cataracts accounted for 47.8% of the 37 million people who were blind worldwide. A significant number of those affected with cataracts leave in rural areas, and most are indigent (those that cannot afford to pay for medical services). Most of these patients resort to begging along the streets seeking assistance. 

This number is likely to increase substantially, as approximately 600,000 Africans become blind from cataract each year. Despite the enormity of the problem, few cataract operations are performed in Africa. The cataract surgery rate (CSR), a measure of the volume of cataract surgery performed in a population, is about 500 per million per year in Africa. To tackle cataract blindness, the International Islamic Youth League initiative, a programme involving Federation of Muslim Association FIMA, the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Public Health and Hygiene, Medical and Dental Council, the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, and various governmental and non-governmental organisations, aims to increase the CSR in Africa to about 2000 per million per year.