Donation helps thousands see in Ghana
A new eye care facility in Ghana opened on Wednesday that its creators say will help hundreds of thousands of people in the West African country.
Calgary-based Operation Eyesight CEO Pat Ferguson said the Watborg Eye Services facilities, an advanced secondary eye care facility in Ghana’s Central Province, was opened thanks to an undisclosed but “very generous” financial contribution from Calgary’s Taylor family of Engineered Air.
The African facility will provide eye care, offer surgery and train medical staff.
“Quality eye care is a huge, huge problem in developing countries to such an extent that the failure rate in cataract surgery alone can be upward of 40 to 50 per cent,” Ferguson said.
“This hospital is intended to act as a demonstration hospital for other African countries and certainly for the country of Ghana,” she said. It is located outside of the capital, Accra.
“It will provide good eye care for literally hundreds of thousands of people in Ghana,” she said.
Operation Eyesight also has facilities in Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia and India. Its goal is to eliminate avoidable blindness.
Ferguson said the facility works with a business model that has paying and non-paying customers. It covers its operating costs but can also provide free services, such as prescription glasses, for those who can’t afford them.
“What we’re doing is trying to help these countries eliminate avoidable blindness as well as be able to finance their own system so they’re not dependent forever on foreign support and charity,” she said.
In a statement, Cameron Taylor said, “It is easy for our family to make a donation from the comforts of Canada.
“However, it is the efforts of Operation Eyesight and, in particular, Dr. (Boateng) Wiafe that deserve the recognition. Without their tireless perseverance, our small gesture would lack the sustainability to make a real impact.”