Richard Wheeler's Eye Camp
I am doing my annual Eye Camp with the Himalayan Cataract Project once again. Our last one was very successful and perhaps one of my greatest achievements in this life. I hope to recreate this success this year, right now!
Eye care is one of the greatest public health challenges for the 21st century. Of the more than 39 million people worldwide suffering from unnecessary blindness, more than half are due to cataract – which can be surgically treated. Most of these people live in the developing world, where poor nutrition and limited access to eye care can mean a life limited by needless blindness. Numerous studies have shown that sight restoration with cataract surgery is among the most cost-effective interventions in health care.
Since 1995, the Himalayan Cataract Project and its global partners have performed more than 600,000 ophthalmic surgeries in the developing world through improvised mobile eye clinics and high-volume cataract campaigns. The life-changing, manual, sutureless procedures can be completed in less than 10 minutes at a material cost of just $25 apiece. Some 18 million needlessly-blind cataract patients still await care, most of them with no place to turn. Cataract surgery is considered one of the most cost-effective medical interventions in the world.
By supporting the Himalayan Cataract Project, we can help change the arc of global blindness within our lifetime.