Alcon the world's leading eye care company, who has been improving eye health and vision for more than 60 years, offers a $50,000 grant to Mercy Ships for the expansion of the training component of the Mercy Vision program for Africa.
The fund is intended for the two three-month surgical fellowships program "Mercy Ships Alcon Fellowship". The fellowship will offer training in advanced cataract techniques and will complement additional training done with community eye workers and local eye surgeons to help build capacity during the ship's 10-month port visit.
Additionally Alcon supports Mercy Ships with the very latest equipment and disposables to tackle most dense and sever African cataract.
According to Dr. Glenn Strauss, Chief of Ophthalmology Service and Senior VP of Strategic Health Care for Mercy Ships, patients in Africa often develop more dense and severe cataracts due to the frequency of eye trauma, the intensity of the sun's rays along the equator, nutritional issues, and lack of access to ophthalmic intervention.
Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity using hospital ships partnering with landbased programmes to deliver transformational health care at no charge to the world’s forgotten poor.
Since 1978, Mercy Ships has had more than 2.16 million direct beneficiaries. The countries served by Mercy Ships are ranked as the poorest in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index (UNHDI).
The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, and is dedicated to the continent of Africa.
Strauss, who have already began training the first fellowship grantee from Gabon this month, believes that Surgeons need to understand all of the techniques available to them and how they can provide the most affordable quality care in the areas they are working in. the fellowship training will also emphasize whole-patient care concepts, developing the trainees' skills to meet the variety of challenges they will experience as future leaders in eye care.
According to Sara Woodward, Director of Alcon's Corporate Humanitarian Services, Mercy Ships vision of training local ophthalmologists to serve the eye care needs of their own communities will help create sustainable eye care delivery in some of the most underserved regions of Africa.
Source: PRWeb
Filed under Africa, Cataract, Eye Care Program, Eye Treatment, Improved Vision, blindness. | Tags: blindness., eye, eye care, Eye Care Program, eye health | Comment Below
Related?
Physicians of Turkey helped 10,000 Africans to gain their visibility October 22nd, 2008 African Cataract project that was launched by the Turkish physicians and nurses in Africa has helped many poor African eyes to gain their visibility again. The African Cataract Project was initiated by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation in 2007 to bring light to the lives of cataract-stricken Africans.
Alcon Gets FDA Approval for Travatan-Z Which Reduce Elevated Intraocular PressureSeptember 22nd, 2006 Alcon Inc. (ACL) received Food and Drug Administration approval for Travatan Z for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Travatan Z is a new formulation that eliminates benzalkonium chloride from Alcon's existing Travatan solution and replaces BAK with Sofzia, a robust ionic buffered preservative system that is gentle to the ocular surface, the eye-care company said.
New Patent for Correcting Centering of Lasik Vision TreatmentsOctober 11th, 2005 Lasik - Laser vision correction surgery has become very popular and successful outpatient procedure that has freed millions of people from the need for glasses. This week a patent was issued for a device which further improves upon the safety of the procedure.
River blindness eliminator drug moxidectin raise hopeJuly 2nd, 2009 A clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa. The drug, moxidectin, is being investigated for its potential to kill or sterilize the adult worms of Onchocerca volvulus, which cause onchocerciasis.
Lack of proper medication make river blindness a major disease in UgandaDecember 12th, 2008 African country of Uganda faces a rise in river blindness incidents. The country is coming under its grip fast.
Viral conjunctivitis treatment - Alcon goes into phase II trialJuly 8th, 2009 Alcon in association with NovaBay has launched its treatment for Viral Conjunctivitis in the phase II trial. What is Viral Conjunctivitis?
Viruses are a common cause of conjunctivitis in patients of all ages.
Eye care product maker Alocon likes to centralised drug facilities in SingaporeMay 27th, 2009 Alcon, one or the world's largest manufacturer of eye care product maker Alocon likes to centralised drug facilities in Singapore, marked the commencement of construction of its first pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the Asian region yesterday with a groundbreaking ceremony in Singapore's Tuas Biomedical Park. The new 330,000 square foot plant will not only manufacture sight-saving pharmaceutical products for Asian markets, but also will create several new job opportunities.
Free eye care offered by NGO to 300 eye patients of riverine communities of OporozaMarch 18th, 2009 To prevent blindness the Riverine Health Care Initiative (RHCV) a NGO in collaboration with DDS Eye Surgery has come out boldly to offer free eye care to 300 rural dwellers at the riverine communities of Oporoza, Ogulagha and Odimodi in Warri South West and Burutu Local Government Areas of Delta State. According to Mr.
