Restore Sight for 1000 People in Rural Mali

The Cure Cataract Project by Embrace Relief uses a unique and community-focused approach to fight preventable blindness in Mali. Our program follows a complete patient care system from awareness to recovery.

1. Community Awareness & Education : We begin by organizing awareness campaigns in partnership with local health authorities to educate communities about cataracts, blindness prevention, and available treatment options. These campaigns help identify people suffering from vision problems and encourage them to seek medical assistance.

2. Free Eye Screenings :  After awareness activities, our medical team conducts free eye screening programs in targeted communities. During these screenings, patients receive eye examinations and eye acuity testing to identify cataracts and other vision-related conditions.

3. Free Cataract Surgeries :  Patients diagnosed with cataracts are provided with completely free cataract surgeries by our experienced medical team. These surgeries help restore sight and improve the daily lives of patients who previously suffered from vision loss.

4. Post-Surgery Follow-Up Care :  Following surgery, our team conducts post-operative follow-up visits to monitor patient recovery, provide medical guidance, and ensure successful healing and improved vision outcomes.

Embrace Relief Mobile Clinic Initiative :  A major part of the project is the Embrace Relief Mobile Clinic initiative. Many people living in rural areas of Mali cannot travel to cities for medical treatment due to transportation and financial barriers. To address this challenge, our medical team travels directly to remote villages using a fully equipped mobile clinic truck. Inside the mobile clinic, we provide eye acuity tests, screenings, consultations, and patient evaluations, bringing essential eye care services closer to underserved communities.

Project Progress: June 2026 – August 2026 :  Between June and August 2026, the Cure Cataract Project continued its outreach into some of the most remote and underserved areas of Mali, extending its mobile clinic services to a new rural district:

• Total patients screened: 644
• Cataract cases identified: 240
• Free cataract surgeries completed: 200

Area Covered: District of Niono During this period, the project's mobile clinic reached the rural areas of the District of Niono, a remote and historically underserved region of Mali:

• Distance: approximately 350 km from Bamako, the capital city of Mali
• Population: potentially exceeding 550,000 people
• Poverty level: the majority of the population lives on less than $3 per day
• Health insurance: approximately 95% of residents have no health insurance
• Cataract prevalence: cataracts account for 60% of blindness cases in the region, and an estimated 1 in 3 individuals over the age of 40 is living with cataracts

Given the scale of need in Niono , a large, high-poverty population with very limited access to health insurance and a high burden of cataract-related blindness , this expansion represents one of the most impactful areas the project has reached to date.

Combined Project Progress: January 2026 – August 2026 Combining results from both reporting periods, the Cure Cataract Project has made the following progress since the start of 2026:

• Total patients screened: 1,579
• Cataract cases identified: 550
• Free cataract surgeries completed: 461

Areas Covered (January – August 2026)

• Fana – approximately 200 km from Bamako, the center of Mali
• Sanankoroba – approximately 25 km from Bamako
• Sirakoro – approximately 15 km from the nearest eye care facility
• Niono – approximately 350 km from Bamako, the capital city of Mali

Through these efforts, the project continues to restore sight and improve the quality of life for vulnerable communities across Mali.