A partnership between MAGRABI ICO Cameroon Eye Institute, MICEI and the Council of Immams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon, CIDIMUC has led to significant success in a campaign to fight growing cases of Cataract in Cameroon.
This was revealed by the authorities of MICEI July 10, 2024 during a visit to the hospital premises by a delegation of CIDIMUC led by its coordinator, Dr. Mousa Oumarou.
The campaign, the CEO of MICEI Dr. Henry Nkumbe noted, targets some 350 sight restoring cataract surgeries. It is within this framework that the Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon (CIDIMUC) participated in sensitizing their faithfuls on the need to avail themselves for treatment.
So far the campaign has taken place in the highly muslim inhabited Briqueterie neighbourhood in Yaounde, Ebolowa in the South, Eseka in the Centre, and some parts of the East regions with some 130 identified cases already operated.
“We look forward to extending the campaign to the Northern regions of the country. We are already working out transportation modalities with CAMRAIL to ferry patients here for the operation process” Dr Nkumbe Henry said.
The process he said, involves screening and identifying cases of cataract in different communities, transporting them to the hospital at Obak, Yaounde for operation.
“ We transport these patients , lodge and feed them here in the hospital and take them back home virtually free of charge,” he said.
He however notes that the hospital was able to carry out these philanthropic services to help the less privileged because some goodwill persons and institutions are supporting the work MICEI is doing.
APPEAL FOR SUPPORT
“ We receive support from 10.000fcfa to 10million fcfa and above from well wishers who want to help and encourage our work. We encourage those who want to encourage this campaign to get to us,” Dr Nkumbe said.
Appreciation by visiting Muslim communities
The visting delegation of Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon could not hide their appreciation of the work done by MICEI especially after a guided tour of the premises and different sectors on the institution.
“ We are here today to thank the hospital authorities for the excellent work they are doing and we encourage them to reinforce cooperation with other faith based institutions to bring joy to their sick faithfuls,” Dr Oumarou said.
He appreciated the cleanliness of the premises, engagement by all the staff and dedication to quality work that he said “ can only be compared to what obtain in Europe.”
MAGRABI ICO CAMEROON EYE INSTITUTE, MICEI
A short VIDEO presentation of the hospital by the communication officer, notes that the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute, a world class eye care services provider in Cameroon is a rare example that has won national and international acclaim for its quality services.
Located in Oback in the outskirt of Yaounde, some 15 km from Nkolbisson, on the road to Okola, the eye care services hospital is of World class, compared only to similar institutions in Europe and the USA, regular patients in the hospital and other observers attest.
Its high-quality eye care services that optimize health care is increasingly applauded, valued, trusted and cherished by the population of Yaounde and beyond including neighbouring countries.
The hospital that went officially operational in 2017 is a project of Africa Eye Foundation an International Non-Governmental Organisation registered in Switzerland and Cameroon with a vision “ to become the leader in the provision of comprehensive and inclusive eye health services in Africa,” he explained.
For the founder and President of Africa Eye Foundation, it is a people centered hospital to improve and restore eye health of especially the poor.
“To improve, preserve, and restore eye health and vision for the people of Cameroon and the neighboring countries of Central Africa, the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute at Yaounde, Cameroon, was established by the Africa Eye Foundation to serve as a center for comprehensive ophthalmology and subspecialty eye care to all in need regardless of ability to pay and as a training center for ophthalmologists, ophthalmology subspecialists, and allied personnel,” says Akef El-Maghraby, MD and President, Africa Eye Foundation.
It is estimated by health authorities that nearly a quarter of a million people in Cameroon suffer from blindness and 600,000 from vision loss. There is a lack of skilled eye care professionals, infrastructure and equipment to adequately address these needs which is why it has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world.
More than 80% of blindness and vision loss in Cameroon is avoidable. Cataract is the single most important cause of blindness and vision loss in Cameroon, accounting for close to half of all cases of blindness and 30% of vision loss.
Blindness from cataract can either be prevented or reversed through surgical interventions. According to a recent study by the Australian NGO, Fred Hollows Foundation, cataract surgery provides one of the largest investment returns of any disease intervention. Accordingly, every dollar invested in cataract treatment returns $20.5. Therefore, the fight against cataract blindness is a very cost-effective contribution to the fight against poverty, given the known vicious cycle between cataract blindness and poverty, especially among women.
It is against this backdrop the MICEI is dedicated to eliminating avoidable blindness and the other eye diseases as a public health problem in Cameroon and Central Africa in general. To achieve this, MICEI’s strategy consists of:
– Providing high quality eye care services at par with what obtains in developed countries.
– Provide training opportunities for the next generation of eye care specialists from Cameroon and the sub-region. A training CENTRE for the Central African dub-region is currently under construction.
– Take eye care services to those, who would otherwise not have access to high quality eye care, as a result of barriers such as cost, distance from existing eye care facilities, lack of knowledge etc.
