BAMAKO, OCT 18 – Senegal made history yesterday by performing the first eye transplant in West Africa, the agency reported Anatolia (AA).
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye described the achievement as a big step for eye health in the country.
Cheikh Khadim Ndoyem, an ophthalmologist with Dr Awa Diama Thiam, successfully performed the cornea transplant.
Eye surgeons Andre Mermoud and Dr Felix Hammer supervised the procedure, which was carried out at the Swiss Visio clinic in Saly Portudal, a seaside resort in Thies.
The historic operation combines “local expertise and international training,” the president said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the African region shows a decrease in vision loss due to vitamin A deficiency, onchocerciasis and trachoma, but new challenges in eye health are increasing.
One in six blind people in the world live in Africa, alongside another 26 million who have some degree of visual impairment, according to a report last week.
Statistics show that only 14 percent of individuals who need cataract surgery successfully receive treatment while more than 80 percent of individuals suffering from farsightedness do not receive treatment.
In addition, only 12 percent of those who need glasses or surgical intervention for blurred vision in Africa will receive the necessary treatment, which has a huge economic impact on the country.
“The estimated global cost of uncorrected refractive error and cataracts is US$14.3 billion per year,” according to the WHO. – Named
