The Eye Care Unit worth 417 million Shillings is being undertaken by Deg Bedo Company Ltd with funding support from the Christina Blind Mission (CBM). It will comprise of a theatre, an outpatient department, wards for both adults and children, among others.
The construction of a specialized eye care unit has been launched at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kitgum
district.
The Eye Care Unit worth
417 million Shillings is being undertaken by Deg Bedo Company Ltd with funding support from the
Christina Blind Mission (CBM). It will
comprise of a theatre, an outpatient department, wards for both adults and
children, among others.
The medical director at St. Joseph’s
Hospital Dr Pamela Atim says the unit is meant to provide accessible,
affordable and quality primary and secondary eye health care services; largely surgical
and emergency management of diseases of the eye. The unit will also tackle the need for human resource development where health workers will undergo training
in the field of eye care and disability mainstreaming.
According to Dr Atim, once completed, the facility that
is the first of its kind in the East Acholi region will serve the districts of Kitgum,
Lamwo, Pader and Agago. It is expected to be completed by June next year.
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The board chairman of the health facility Monsignor Father
Vincent Ojok Adot says the specialized eye care unit is a big relief in the
fight, prevention and treatment against numerous eye complications that have reportedly
been neglected.
According to Monsignor Ojok, the
prevalence of avoidable eye diseases and blindness in the sub-region stands at
75 per cent with the main causes being cataract standing at 55 per cent, trachoma
and glaucoma that can be treated.
Monsignor Father Ojok says that apart from offering
affordable eye care services, the facility will bridge the challenges of unnecessary
referrals to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and St Mary’s Hospital Lacor; both
in Gulu and other facilities in the central region.
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While presiding over the launch, the Kitgum Deputy Resident
District Commissioner Kasugga Amuuli Kintu urged the implementing bodies to observe
value for money and quality work to ensure that the intended beneficiaries benefit from the project.
