Lions’ cataract eye surgery sets new record in Seychelles |29 March 2008

They conducted their fourth eye camp in Seychelles sponsored by the Free Masons of Seychelles in collaboration with the Lions International and the Lions Club of Paradise Seychelles.

The team was headed by Lion Dr Ashok Shah, an advisor to the World Health Organisation, who was associated with the earlier three eye camps in Seychelles.

The gynecologist-turned-eye surgeon, Dr Jyotee Dharmendra Trivedy, beat her own record of 65 operations per day to 74 in Seychelles.

They were ably assisted by a medical team in the eye clinic and the operating theatre headed by Dr Nithy Verma.

The latest technology was used, so much so each operation lasted only three and a half minutes. Some elderly patients who were operated on remarked that they could not  believe that an eye operation had been performed with such speed, smoothness  and pain free. This collaboration is expected to be an annual event for the benefit of the Seychellois population.

“The collaboration of the private sector with the government sector, particularly like the Free Masons and the Lions could go a long way to alleviate the sufferings in the health sector as was evidenced by the four eye camps held in Seychelles,” remarked  Lion Marie-Pierre Lloyd, the Minister for Health and Social Development at a banquet hosted at the end of the fourth eye camp by the Lions Club of Paradise Seychelles to the visiting medical team, eye clinic and operating theatre staff and to Free Masons in the Coco ‘Dor Hotel.

In an exclusive interview, the visiting medical team had with the  Minister of Health and Social Affairs, they commented on the high degree of involvement, dedication and  cooperation of the eye clinic staff which adds another feather to the cap of the Health ministry.

The Lions International has been ranked as number one service club out of  34 global non-governmental organizations and in 1990 when they organized the “Sight First” programme it was hoped to improve eye care for 75 million people, prevent vision loss or restore vision in 8.7 million  people, create more than 150 eye-care clinics worldwide and train more than 2,500 health-care professionals. Their mission was to significantly reduce preventable and reversible blindness worldwide but particularly in developing countries where 90% of avoidable blindness exists.

This year this programme of the Lions hopes to raise US$200 million out of  which  157.9 million has already been collected which would go to save millions from immediate threats to sight, such as trachoma and river blindness. Trachoma is estimated to have infected 84 million people in 55 different countries. The bacteria that causes the infection is spread by flies and poor sanitation. The eyelashes turn in and rub against the cornea causing constant pain, scarring and eventually, blindness. Normally one becomes blind by middle age and in southern Sudan some children are blind by the time they go to grade 3 in school. River blindness caused by certain tiny black flies that breed in streams infect people with parasites that cause constant itching and leads to blindness.

An estimated 37 million people are blind today and it is estimated that this figure may jump to 74 million by the year 2020. At least 80% of blindness is reversible or could have been prevented. Millions of children are blind and another child goes blind every minute Every 30 seconds six people go blind. There lies the global noble task of the 
“Sight First II”s vision for all. This programme has so far accomplished the following on a global level:-

. Prevented serious vision loss for 27 million
. Provided 80 million treatment for river blindness
. Restored sight to seven million with cataract
. Improved eye-care services for hundreds of millions
. Built or expanded 213 eye hospitals or clinics
. Upgraded 315 eye centres with equipment
. Trained 305,000 eye-care professionals
. Awarded more than US $193 million for 818 projects in 90 countries
. Established 30 pediatric eye-care centres to combat childhood blindness

                                                                                                           V.Sivasupramaniam