Eye Care Awareness Month
Council's Bureau - Love Your Eyes: Get back the gift of sight

The Bureau for the Prevention of Blindness, Council's Eye Care Services Division, is coordinating and conducting various cataract blitzes (high volume of cataract surgeries) in six of our provinces during the month of October in order to put eye care services in the reach of under-serviced, rural communities.

Each cataract surgery, which is performed in under 30 minutes, gives the gift of sight back to each patient - and the Bureau plans to be instrumental in giving this gift to as many as over 700 people!

These blitzes take place as part of the Eye Care Awareness Month (ECAM) campaign. ECAM is a South African initiative held annually in the month of October in order to raise awareness about the importance of eye health, specifically around the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness. International World Sight Day, which will be held on 13 October, is an important day within the ECAM calendar.

80% of blindness is avoidable either through prevention or through treatment - which is why ECAM's message: 'Love your eyes' and get your eyes tested at least once per year', is so important!

200 cataract removal operations will be done across the North-West Province. These operations are kindly funded by the Allergan Foundation, the North-West Province Provincial government and are conducted by our Life Health Team. The Allergan Foundation is an international pharmaceutical company that is committed to helping change lives in South Africa and helping us prevent avoidable blindness through initiatives such as these cataract blitzes that will give sight back to many people. 100 operations will be done from 16-22 October at Potchefstroom Hospital and another 100 operations will be done from 23-29 October at the Mahikeng Hospital. For more information contact the team leader Alfred Mekwa on 082 337 1422.