The Millennium Villages Project
Thirteen Villages in Ten Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Lining up for a screening in Uganda.
Interventions to Date:
Bonsaaso, Ghana
Koraro, Ethiopia
Ruhiira, Uganda
Sauri, Kenya
Pampaida, Nigeria
Mayange, Rwanda
Remaining in 2009:
Mwandama, Malawi
2010 & Beyond:
Dertu, Kenya
Ikaram, Nigeria
Mbola, Tanzania
Mwandama, Malawi
Potou, Senegal
Tiby, Mali
Toya, Mali
In 2006, the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP) was approached by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University (and author of "The End of Poverty") to carry out comprehensive eye care assessments in thirteen villages in Sub-Saharan Africa. As part of The Millennium Villages Project, HCP is helping demonstrate its innovative eye care model and cost structure within the complex United Nations health budget to ensure that the poorest and most neglected areas in the developing world can be served.
Eye Care in Africa
Bonsaaso, Ghana: 4,600 people screened /150 cataract surgeries
Koraro, Ethiopia: 3,650 people screened / 129 cataract surgeries / 100+trichiasis surgeries
Ruhiira, Uganda: 4,669 people screened / 107cataract surgeries
Sauri, Kenya: 3,000 people screened / 125 cataract surgeries
Pampaida, Nigeria: 2,400 people screened / 170 cataract surgeries
Mayange, Rwanda: 2,000 people screened / 122 cataract surgeries / 21 corneal transplant surgeries
Although eye care was not included in the Millennium Villages Project’s original health strategy, it soon became clear to researchers that blindness was having a devastating economic impact on the project’s targeted populations and that HCP’s eye care model could answer their pressing needs.