Did you know that nearly 26.3 million people in Africa have a form of vision impairment? According to the World Health Organization, cataracts are the leading causes of visual impairment and often lead to blindness when left untreated. The good news is that World Telehealth Initiative’s new program in Togo supports local ophthalmologist, Dr. Abram Wodome, and his life’s work preventing blindness throughout Western Africa.

Dr. Wodome began his Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) Clinic in Togo to address the need for affordable eye surgery and improve patients’ quality of life. MSICS is an efficient form of cataract surgery that only takes 20 minutes to restore someone’s sight. Dr. Wodome’s clinic has changed many lives by conducting more than 750 cataract surgeries each year.

After helping patients in his home country of Togo, Dr. Wodome was inspired to reach even more people in need by creating an MSICS teaching institute. The institute will multiply his impact exponentially by training surgeons from around Western Africa and facilitating up to 4,000 additional cataract surgeries each year. In partnership with World Telehealth Initiative and Mercy Ships, the curriculum includes regular lessons from international experts via telehealth. Once the medical students have mastered MSICS, they will provide this empowering surgery to patients in their home communities across Western Africa.

No one deserves to go blind just because they don’t have access to a trained eye surgeon. Dr. Wodome’s teaching institute will bring hope to thousands of visually impaired patients, who will no longer live in fear of losing their vision due to untreated cataracts.