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Executive Summary
Mercy Ships is a global Christian charity which serves the poorest of the poor in the developing world. Operating hospital ships and field offices, Mercy Ships works to increase the capacity of each host nation to serve the dire needs of the local population. In addition to the thousands of free, specialised surgeries offered on the ships and field offices, community development projects take place in the surrounding villages in collaboration with local partners. These sustainable programs target areas of health, education, water, agriculture, and spiritual need.
South Africa
The burden of the health crisis is borne largely by the poor and rural population. Factors contributing to the current health situation include poverty, poor sanitation and water supply, inadequate housing and inaccessability of health services.
Eye Health
Number of blind people: 225,000 in South Africa.
Main causes of blindness: Cataract (66%)
Number of people with cataract blindness: 160,000 in South Africa.
Number of cataract operation performed annually: 850 per million population.
Number of opthalmologists: 275 in South Africa, but only 27 in the Public Sector, serving 36 million medically indigent people.
Source: Health Systems Trust
Mercy Ships plans to........
....attend to South Africa's eye health need by building eye surgery capacity in the country over an initial 5 year period, whereafter our involvement may be expanded into other intervention types.
Mercy Ships has a history of more than 27 years of operation and thousands of successful eye surgeries performed in many countries in the Caribbean and Africa.
The project addresses surgical and medical eye needs in South Africa with the primary emphasis on reduction of blindness as a result of cataracts. Spiritual and emotional counseling is offered particularly to those for whom no medical help is possible.
Mercy Ships will partner with local eye care providers including National Council for the Blind, the SA Dept of Health, Local Government and Private Hospitals, and the Fred Hollows Foundation. Together they will also help to identify local medical candidates for capacity building.
Click to see, The Project at a Glance
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Nelson Mandela Talks about Mercy Ships
Video clip - 4.8mb .wmv
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