HCP Newsletter - October 2005
Namaste,
Greetings from the Himalayan Cataract Project and thanks for signing
up to receive our Inaugural E-Newsletter. We plan to use this as a
forum to update our supporters on projects, new developments and
noteworthy happenings. We have just returned from our Annual Board
Meeting which was held in Chicago in conjunction with the American
Academy of Ophthalmology's annual conference. In reviewing the year
to date with the Board, one of the most intriguing projects was our
work to support the training and education of doctors from the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).
The Himalayan Cataract Project, Tilganga Eye Centre, and Fred Hollows
Foundation (Australia) are embarking on a long-term effort to train
North Korean eye care providers and establish a quality eye care
infrastructure in North Korea. This initiative started in 2004 when
the HCP supported microsurgery training for two North Korean
ophthalmologists at Tilganga and supplied microscopes and surgical
instruments. In spring 2005, with additional support from the
Stiftung Foundation and the Swiss Ophthalmologic Society, a team from
the Tilganga Eye Centre made an initial visit to the country in order
to conduct two microsurgical cataract workshops, provide further
training to the first two North Korean doctors trained in modern
cataract surgery, and to raise awareness of eye care services in the
local community. Over 2,200 patients were screened and more than 700
operations were performed.
The North Korean government was very pleased with the workshops and
has asked Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Director Dr. Sanduk Ruit to
develop an overall plan to improve eye care throughout the country.
In conjunction with the Tilganga Eye Centre, the Himalayan Cataract
Project and the Fred Hollows Foundation will be involved supporting
the plan's implementation in North Korea. As the newsletter goes to
press, HCP and FHF are sponsoring three additional North Korean
doctors for training in microsurgical cataract techniques at Tilganga.
Additional exchanges are planned for 2006.
Why North Korea? While not in the Himalayan region, North Korea's
cataract surgical rate (CSR - which is expressed as the number of
operations per year, per million population) is extremely low, for a
country of 23 million people. The World Health Organization's
accepted CSR standard is 3,000 per year, per million population.
North Korea's CSR is 200. Furthermore, of the operations that were
performed in the last year in North Korea, most were done without the
use of an intraocular lens, the modern standard for cataract surgery
that replaces the cataract affected lens in the eye with an
intraocular lens. When called upon to assist in regions beyond our
traditional working borders, the Himalayan Cataract Project does its
best to provide assistance. In this case, all of our resources for
training the North Korean doctors have been generously provided by the
Sarlo Foundation, to whom we are most grateful.
Australian photographer Michael Amendolia joined the team in North
Korea to document the trip for Tilganga. Some of the photographs are
featured on his website under "Features":
http://www.michaelamendolia.com/Northkorea/nthkor1.htm
In the News
- Co-Director, Dr. Geoff Tabin, was recently approached by Cataract &
Refractive Surgery Today to be Section Editor of a new regular column
on international humanitarian ophthalmology. To kick-off the column,
there is a Mini-Focus area in this month's journal with articles by
leading experts in international ophthalmology. To read Geoff's
introduction, use the following link:
http://www.crstoday.com/PDF%20Articles/1005/CRST1005_SF_Intro.html
- The October issue of Eye World Magazine has an article titled
"Rising to the Challenge" that describes how Geoff Tabin came to found
the Himalayan Cataract Project.
http://www.eyeworld.org/article.php?sid=2798&query=Geoff%20Tabin
- The Himalayan Cataract Project will be featured in the December
issue of Outside Magazine with a cover story about two eye camps and
an expedition that were sponsored by The North Face last spring. Also
look for the current North Face ad campaign in outdoor magazines with
photographs from the eye camps.
Please visit our site:
http://www.cureblindness.org/?nid=1
Sincerely,
Job Heintz, Emily Newick and Geoff Tabin
The Himalayan Cataract Project Team
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