Cure Blindness Project

Hetauda Community Eye Hospital (HCEH) in Nepal organized an outreach microscopic eye clinic in April.  Patients were screened from five different locations, and 335 surgeries were performed.  Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Directors Dr. Sanduk Ruit and Dr. Geoff Tabin, as well as Dr. Sanjita Sharma and Dr. Rachana Singh Rana from HCEH performed the surgeries.

HCEH is located in Southern Nepal and is a non-profit, sister organization of Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, which is also supported by the Himalayan Cataract Project.  Through outreach microscopic eye clinics we are able to reach people in rural areas who would normally not have the ability to travel to the hospitals for treatment.  By providing these outreach clinics, HCP is able to reach the most needy patients and provide high quality care, no matter their location or ability to pay.

Doctors Angira Shrestha and Sanjita Sharma managed a two-day cataract workshop at the Hetauda Community Eye Hospital in Nepal. A total of 819 patients were screened and 157 cataract operations were provided.  Among the patients was Binu Maya Chepang a resident of Kakada VDC Makwanpur. Binu walked for seven hours to come to the workshop and receive treatment. She is now cataract free and her vision has been restored.

Doctors Geoff Tabin and Huck Holz worked with partners from Gondar University Hospital in Ethiopia to manage a high-volume cataract workshop at Debre-Tabor Hospital. During the workshop, 629 surgeries were provided including 13 pediatric cataract surgeries. Over the next year, HCP will be working to enhance the ophthalmology teaching programs at Gondar, with a focus on residency and sub-specialty fellowship training.