¡Salimos en la prensa!

áfrica directo11-Feb, 2020

Es inusual que los medios locales en África se hagan eco de la labor de las ONGs, en este caso lo han hecho ¡y estamos super contentos!

A surgeon checks the eyes of Jane Alejo the former Secretary for social services using the operating microscope as other health workers look on. PHOTO BY ROBERT ELEMA

YUMBE. Africa Directo, a volunteer organisation from Spain has donated eye care equipment to Lodonga health centre IV.

The equipment donated include; two eye operating microscopes and screening equipment for eye diseases with their different gadgets.

Speaking during the handover of the equipment at Lodonga health centre IV on Thursday, Sr Hellen Lumago, the in charge of the facility said Africa Directo is their volunteer partner that has worked with them for a year.

She said the handover of the equipment followed a one-week eye care camp organised at the facility. The camp attracted over 350 patients of which 51 were operated successfully.

«These people came here and found out that many people in the area are in need of eye care services. They went back and looked for money for procuring the eye care equipment,» Lumago said.

«This machine will help our people a lot because the eye has been mostly neglected. We need to protect the machine so that it helps our people for a good number of years because such machines are rare,» Lumago added.

She said the only challenge would be the human resource to operate the machines and lack of eye care facility to keep the equipment.

Dr Alfred Yayi, the Yumbe district health officer said the eye care equipment has been donated at a time when the demand is high especially in Yumbe and West Nile region as a whole.

Ms Jane Alejo the former secretary for social services(centre) shares a light moment with a patient who underwent eye surgery during the one week camp at Lodonga health centre lV.

He said they have a number of eye diseases and the number of people who are becoming blind is growing.

«This is an expensive equipment to be based in Lodonga health centre IV and will benefit all the community in Yumbe and beyond,» Yayi said.

He said it’s not easy to access eye care machines unless one goes to Arua or beyond with a lot of costs.

Fuente original: https://www.westnileweb.com/news-a-analysis/yumbe/lodonga-health-facility-receives-eye-care-equipment