Durban - Nearly 1 000 people will undergo cataract surgery in KwaZulu-Natal after the provincial Health Department joined forces with Discovery Health and the International Centre for Eyecare Education.
The institutions launched the National Cataract Coalition at the Mahatma Gandhi hospital on Wednesday. They are targeting a minimum of 40 patients a month over a one-year period.
Discovery will provide R10 million over the next two years to make the operations possible.
The Mahatma Gandhi and Vryheid hospitals will receive financial support to function as high volume cataract surgery units.
The department said there would be continued support in community outreach to sustain the high volume of eye surgery required to impact on blindness on a public health scale in the province.
Around 200 000 people across the country require cataract surgery in the public healthcare system. In South Africa, more than 50 percent of blindness is caused by this condition.
"[It] is currently the leading cause of blindness worldwide, with Africa having a disproportionate amount of people with blinding cataracts.
"The sad thing is that despite the superior infrastructure in South Africa, our public sector mirrors the reality of the rest of Africa," said District Manager of eThekwini Sibongile Shezi, speaking on behalf of the KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC.
"This is largely due to the paucity of eye care personnel in the public sector, and the fact that the private sector is prohibitively expensive to the 80 percent of the population who solely rely on the public health care for their wellbeing," she said.
