Members of Parliament Fred Opolot Pingire County and Emmanuel Omoding for Serere County have partnered together with North Indian Cultural Association [NICA] of Uganda to offer free eye screening and cataract surgery camp in Serere.
This is the second time the eye exercise is happening in Serere. The last time was in November 2022.
A medical camp is a temporarily organized activity providing free or sponsored medical, surgical, eye diagnosis and or treatment.
According to MP Opolot the idea was initiated to offer free eye treatment camps to the underprivileged after realizing there was a high number of people with eye-related complications in Serere.
“Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness in middle-income families, the highest burden is thought to be in the Teso,” Opolot noted.
Opolot lauded NICA Uganda for extending a healing hand to the community members who cannot afford eye treatment.
“Most people do not have money for surgery. Some operations cost as much as Shs2m per eye. Many just go blind after giving up,” MP Emmanuel Omoding said.
He urged the public to regularly visit eye specialists for checkups.
Serere district ophthalmologist, Winfred Alero says they do not have the necessary equipment and personnel thus referring most patients to Mulago hospital.
In the last November exercise more than 2,000 people with different eye problems benefited from screening glasses and eye medicines while 100 will benefit from cataract surgeries during the free eye screening and surgery camps.
Since its establishment in 2011, NICA Uganda has carried out over 67 free eye screening camps, scanned 29,192 patients, and distributed 10,931 free spectacles, 1463 free cataract surgeries, and three free cornea transplants.