Missions
The Challenge
According to the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey conducted in 2007, the prevalence of blindness in people of all ages was estimated to be 0.78% in Nigeria. Not only does blindness hinder the quality of life, it also impacts the socio-economic conditions of the family, community and the nation. According to experts, “If priority attention is not given, the number of blind and severely visually impaired adults in Nigeria will increase by more than 40 per cent over the next decade.
Our Approach
TCF aims to:
- Reduce avoidable blindness, predominantly cataract, among the rural poor of Nigeria by providing high quality free surgeries.
- Increase local capacities to contribute to reducing blindness in Nigeria.
Our Programs
- Focus on surgical treatment of cataract with intra-ocular lens implantation.
- Provide service to those who would otherwise be unable to access quality eye care.
- Draw from the vast experience in Community Eye Care in India where its sister organizations are engaged in performing over 180,000 free eye surgeries annually.
- Modern surgical techniques using state of the art equipment.
- Maximizing utilization of Government infrastructure thus saving unnecessary duplication and expense.
Current Programs
1. Kebbi Eye Care Program
In the year 2002, the Mission for Vision was scaled up to Kebbi State, with 4 eye camps, supported by Kebbi State government. The overwhelming response to the camps reiterated the need for such interventions in the state. In August 2002, the state government, in partnership with TCF, had set up a permanent eye hospital by the name Hafsat Eye Centre at Kebbi.
Kebbi State
In the year 2002, the Mission for Vision was scaled up to Kebbi State, with 4 eye camps, supported by Kebbi State government. The overwhelming response to the camps reiterated the need for such interventions in the state. In August 2002, the state government, in partnership with TCF had set up a permanent eye hospital by the name Hafsat Eye Centre at Kebbi.
Key services offered at the center are:
- Pre-operative screening
- Surgical Interventions / Surgeries (Cataract, Glaucoma, Pterygium with Graft and others)
- Post-operative medication
- Accommodation
- 15-day and 30-day review of the operated patients
All these services are provided free of cost to all the patients.
As on March 2019, 34,101 surgeries had been conducted at Hafsat Eye Center, Kebbi. The beneficiaries include economically poor and disadvantaged population, not just from Kebbi state and neighboring states in Nigeria, but also from neighboring countries like Benin and Niger.
2. Calabar Eye Care Program
TCF in collaboration with Cross Rivers State government conducted its first eye camp in the year 2003. Through the camp, TCF had identified and operated 1,019 patients in a span of 6 months. The overwhelming response to the camps reiterated the need for such interventions in the state. In March 2004, the state government, in partnership with TCF had set up the eye center in the general hospital at Calabar
Cross River State
TCF, in collaboration with Cross Rivers State government conducted its first eye camp in the year 2003. Through the camp, TCF had identified and operated 1,019 patients in a span of 6 months. The overwhelming response to the camps reiterated the need for such interventions in the state. In March 2004, the state government, in partnership with TCF had set up the eye center in the general hospital at Calabar.
Key services offered at the center are:
- Out-reach camps. The camps cover around 11 LGAs in Cross River State
- Pre-operative screening at the center
- Surgical Interventions / Surgeries (Cataract, Glaucoma, Pterygium with Graft and others)
- Post-operative medication
- Accommodation
- 15-day and 30-day review of the operated patients
All these services are provided free of cost to all the patients. As on March 2019, 38,485 surgeries had been conducted at the Eye Center, General Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State. The beneficiaries include economically poor and disadvantaged population, not just from Cross River State and neighboring states in Nigeria, but also from neighboring countries like Cameroon.
Previous Programs
As part of our Mission, while implementing the eye care programs, TCF also builds the capacities of local governments and ophthalmic departments to scale up, consolidate and manage the eye care programs in their respective states. During implementation of the project, local surgeons, clinical, and other non-clinical staff are identified, trained and mentored by experts.
These centers were handed over to respective state governments and are successfully providing quality eye care services to the needy.
The Impact
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