By Spy Uganda
Kamuli: The Ruparelia Foundation in partnership with the North Indian Cultural Association of Uganda (NICA-U) has kicked off free eye treatment in a camp held in Kamuli District, in the Eastern Region of Uganda.
Another partner in this camp is Dr. Agarwals hospital, one of the globally recognized eye hospitals Uganda is blessed with.
The eye camp kicked off yesterday, 20th July 2022, and will end on 21st August 2022. It is held at Shree Hindu Bhangini Samaj, plot 4-19 Crawford Avenue.
Activities to be carried out in this camp include; eye screening, cataract surgery, free glasses, and a blood drive.
Ministry of Health’s 2021 report revealed that 2.5 million Ugandans had both moderate and severe eye-related impairments whereas approximately 150,000 were completely blind (0.4%).
According to the MoH’s management information system (HMIS), eye diseases are one of the top 10 causes of morbidity and outpatient (OPD) attendance.
The Ministry of Health reported in 2021 that 57.1% of blindness in Uganda is caused by cataracts, while uncorrected refractive errors are the commonest cause of visual impairments.
There are 17 common or priority eye conditions in Uganda, which include cataracts, primary open-angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, refractive errors, low vision, retinoblastoma, conjunctivitis, the foreign body of the eye, keratitis, conjunctivitis of the newborn, trachoma and eye injuries.
Globally more than 253 million people are visually impaired; among them, 124 million have low vision while 36 million are blind.
