Sierra Leone
“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
II Corinthians 4:5
Situated in western Africa, Sierra Leone is home to more than 7 million people. Although it is rich in natural resources, it is near the bottom of the United Nations’ Social Development listing. The country was ravaged by an 11-year civil war that ended in 2001. In 2014 and 2015, the largest Ebola epidemic in history shattered the country’s’ economy and health care system.
The need for eye care and professional providers in Sierra Leone is great — there are currently only two trained and practicing eye surgeons for the entire country. In comparison, Minnesota, with a population of only 5.4 million, has 270 ophthalmologists. But, with the support of Central Global Vision Fund (CGVF) and our donors, the Kissy Eye Hospital in Freetown has become the largest and best-equipped eye care facility in the country and able to provide:
Quality On-Site Hospital and Clinic Eye Care
CGVF gathers and ships ophthalmic equipment and medical supplies to the Kissy Eye Hospital. In addition, we support teams that visit in-country to ensure our sponsored facilities and equipment are in good repair.
Outreach Screenings
Kissy is developing an aggressive outreach program in remote areas of Sierra Leone with the goal of eliminating avoidable blindness including cataracts, glaucoma, onchocerciasis (river blindness), and other related diseases. Patients are screened in their home village and, if medical treatment is needed, they are brought to the local eye hospital, housed, and fed while they recover from medical treatment.
Research
In this post-Ebola period, the Kissy Eye Hospital has been instrumental in diagnosing the residual effects of Ebola on the eye and hosts an ongoing research team from Emory University who are concentrating on defining the life cycle of the virus in the eye.