Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
The England-based international organisation with the mission to curtail blindness and other eye related diseases, Sightsavers, has offered eye patients in the Southwest Region equipment and medication worth FCFA 30 Million. This was the motive of a trip to the Southwest Regional Delegation of Public Health by Cameroon Country Director of Sightsavers, Dr. Joseph Enyegue Oye. After the handover of the equipment and drugs, Dr Enyegue Oye said patients with eye problems must stand up and be counted because Sightsavers is there for them all the time. In this exclusive interview, he also gave the details of the equipment and drugs he brought for eye patients in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.
Southwest Regional Delegate of Health, Dr Mbome Njie(2nd from left) receives sample of equipment from Dr. Oye(in blue jacket)
Excerpts:
What is the organisation Sightsavers all about?
This is an international organisation that works in 34 countries across the world, mainly in Africa and South Asia. We work to improve health systems, with focus on the eyes. Our intention is to ensure that where we work, the population should have access to quality eye health. Our mission is that no one should go blind. We are doing our best for no one to get blind. But for people who are blind already, we make efforts that they are integrated into the society in which they live, that is social inclusion; participation in the political life and employment opportunities. We also work on inclusive education, ensuring that children who are irreversible blind also go to school, same schools like children who are not disabled, they actively participate in school activities and receive quality education.
How much effort is Sightsavers making to stop blindness in the world?
We are one of the biggest players in the prevention of blindness in the world. From the UK, where our headquarter is, we put in a lot of effort. In Cameroon, we are amongst the biggest institutions in the fight against eye diseases. We support the prevention of blindness in Cameroon and we have been doing that for 13 years. We support the national programme for the fight against eye problems across Cameroon.
What is your mission to Buea?
We came to give some equipment to the Southwest Regional Delegate of Public Health so that those which are obsolete can be replaced across the Region. We have been doing this since 2001. Some of the equipment are already bad, so we came to make available new ones for replacement. All what we brought are requests from the various eye units across the Southwest Region. These include; 4 hand set slit lamps, 9 keelers frames, 9 keeler loupes, 3 retinoscopes, 1 hand edge grinder, 50 packs of hydrocychloride, 5 containers of acetazolamide, a pack of flourescein sodium, 6 master wheel, 1 cataract set, 8 trail frames for adults, 2 trail frames for children, 2 autoclaves, 2 artificial eyes, 1 drilling apparatus, 1 lens grover, 1 glass tinting unit, 1 trail frame and lens box, 1 trail lens set, 1 perkins tonometre and 3 schiotz tonometre. These donations are worth FCFA 30 miilion and are destined for eye units in Limbe, Kumba, Fontem, Buea, Mutengene, Mamfe, Bangem, Akwaya, Mundemba and the Regional office of the Eye Department in the Delegation of Public Health.
What do you expect from the Southwest Delegation of Public Health with these donations?
We have been working together for many years. I have no doubt that the Regional Delegate, Dr. Victor Mbome Njie will endeavour that the equipment are put into good use and get to where they are destined. His team on the ground should make good use as they have always done. The patients with eye problems will be the first beneficiaries.
Thank you Dr Oye!!
You are welcome!!
Interviewed by Walter Wilson Nana
