Aim
Providing surgical care and restoring sight to individuals in remote areas of Papua New Guinea. Training and empowering local ophthalmologists to continue to provide much-needed ophthalmic services.
The project
Eye surgery is available in only four urban centers in this country; therefore those living in rural and remote areas have almost no access to eye care. During outreach trips, the project aimed to help to train local ophthalmologists in the most innovative methods of manual cataract extraction.
Update on the project
YWAM purchased several pieces of equipment including a handheld autorefractor/ keratometer, an ultrasonic cleaner and a B-class autoclave, to decrease turnaround time between surgeries. YWAM's first 1-week ophthalmic outreach took place in Port Moresby, where they worked with the Port Moresby General Hospital's (PMGH) ophthalmic team to perform sight-restoring cataract surgery for patients with serious visual impairment. The final two outreaches of the year were to Alotau, Milne Bay Province, from 19 September to 5 October 2014.