Our Kenya programs created a tremendous impact in 2016, especially those benefitting children. Together with Seeing is Believing (SiB) and other organizations, we continued an innovative Child Eye Health project to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment in children. In 2016, we focused on service delivery, clinical assessment, field monitoring, advocacy and sustainability. We screened over 67,000 children for eye health problems and treated more than 3,000 children. We also assisted with ophthalmic clinical officer assessments and participated in advocacy meetings with educators. With targets and sustainability strategies now in place, the Child Eye Health project was handed over to the ministries of health and education, who will provide continuous eye care services for children.

Thanks to our GivingTuesday 2015 donors, we screened nearly 20,000 students from over 40 different schools in Narok County in 2016. Over 500 students were treated for various eye conditions. Teachers and ophthalmic clinical officers also educated students on eye health and sanitation.

With our partners, we scaled up the PEEK school screening program in Trans Nzoia County. PEEK (Portable Eye Examination Kit) is an application enabling teachers to screen students for vision problems using a mobile phone. Thanks to funding through SiB, we implemented the PEEK system at Kitale Eye Unit and two satellite clinics, and provided refresher training for teachers who had been part of our pilot project the previous year. In 2016, over 40,000 students were screened across 70 schools, and nearly 870 of the children were treated for various eye health issues.

With support from SiB, we continued to strengthen our community outreach programs in the former Rift Valley Province. In 2016, over 100,000 patients were screened for eye problems. In collaboration with the county government, we established a new eye unit at Huruma Sub-County Hospital. We also supported training for three ophthalmic nurses and one cataract surgeon.

And finally, with support from The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, we continued implementing the SAFE strategy to eliminate the blinding eye disease trachoma. Working with Narok County Referral Hospital, we trained 121 community health workers as Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) case finders to help identify those suffering from the late stage of the disease, refer people for surgery and follow up with patients. Over 41,000 people were screened for TT, of which 358 were identified and 273 received surgeries. We also educated 15 school communities on sanitation and eye health, and trained 30 community health volunteers to facilitate Community-Led Total Sanitation programs. This resulted in the construction of 11 new latrines, increasing latrine coverage by 24 percent in the targeted communities.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Just how much good we can do together? So much work has already been done, but there’s still a lot more to do! To help us continue our work in Kenya, please consider making a gift through our Gift Guide. No gift is too small! Together we can eliminate avoidable blindness – For All the World to See!

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In addition to supporting over 5,000 cataract surgeries in Ghana, we focused on building capacity of our partner hospitals, thanks to funding through Seeing is Believing. With support from Ghana Health Service, we conducted training workshops for primary eye care workers, which focused on mobilizing and educating communities, identifying various eye conditions, treating minor eye health issues and referring patients for appropriate care.

In partnership with Australia’s Brien Holden Vision Institute, we also trained optometrists to identify and work with patients with low vision. In addition, we procured and installed low vision diagnostic equipment for 18 of our 35 partner hospitals and conducted training workshops for equipment technicians, who were taught how to maintain the hospitals’ ophthalmic equipment.

We supported our partners and other personnel from Ghana Health Service in running an awareness campaign in the hospitals and surrounding communities. The campaign included the distribution of educational brochures, as well as radio and television programs where people could phone in and ask questions.

By educating people about eye health and creating awareness of the services offered by our partner hospitals, we’re encouraging people to take charge of their own eye health.

Working with the Swiss Red Cross, Ghana Health Service, and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, we completed a National Blindness and Visual Impairment Study, which was supported by Seeing is Believing and aims to provide nationally representative data on blindness and visual impairment in Ghana.

This study, a first of its kind in the country, was spearheaded by Operation Eyesight and included nearly 4,600 survey participants. The study will be finalized and disseminated in 2017 and will be a valuable resource as we continue to develop our eye health advocacy efforts in Ghana!

And finally, through funding from Seeing is Believing and with support from our partner hospitals and volunteers from Standard Chartered Bank, we screened over 60,000 students and dispensed over 450 pairs of new prescription eyeglasses in Ghana. Incredible!

All of this was made possible by supporters like you! To help us continue our work in Ghana, please consider making a gift through our online Gift Guide. No gift is too small! As always, thank you for giving the gift of sight – For All the World to See!

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