Nepal
In Nepal, cataracts represent 70% of unnecessary blindness.
The Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu serves as the Himalayan Cataract Project’s (HCP) base of operations in Asia. While the Centre operates independently, HCP is closely involved in Tilganga’s infrastructure, outreach and educational programs. The Himalayas has one of the highest rates of cataract blindness in the world. For this reason, the blind from the Himalayas region were the original focus of HCP and Tilganga.
Each year, an estimated 60,000 Nepalese lose sight to cataracts. Presently, there is a backlog of 200,000 people who are blind from cataracts and need surgery. HCP and Tilganga work diligently to eliminate this backlog by restoring eyesight to these individuals and training additional surgeons to perform cataract surgery.
Learn more about the Tilganga Eye Centre and Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology
- A child smiles at an eye camp in Nepal.
Video
Eye Care in Nepal: Dr. Paul Yang of the John A. Moran Eye Center traveled to Nepal in 2010 as a Freeman Fellow with support from the HCP. He participated in an Outreach Microsurgical Eye Clinic (OMEC) in Hetauda at the Community Hospital that HCP supports. Dr. Yang created a short video documenting the cataract program.
Mobile Eye Camp in Nepal: Dr. Sanduk Ruit, co-director of Himalayan Cataract Project and medical director of the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu, was featured in a Aljazeera news report in December 2010.
HCP Video by Serac Films: The life of an elder in Nepal is turned around through cataract surgery.
