Over 3000 people to undergo eye screening and treatment

Tarime. More than 3,000 people from 11 villages surrounding the Acacia North Mara Gold Mine are expected to get eye screening and treatment, free of charge.
The campaign is expected to cost more than Sh50 million whereby it will be carried out for 12 days. It is fully funded and organized by the Acacia North Mara Gold Mine.
Speaking at Nyagoto health center in the district yesterday during the launching of the campaign, the mine’s Sustainable Communities Manager Richard Ojendo said the campaign, which was first initiated in 2013, serves to complement government’s efforts in improving access of health services to rural communities across Tanzania.
He said that the programme will also include a sensitization drive in a bid to achieve the global 2020 vision – Right to Sight geared towards eliminating avoidable blindness.
Mr Ojendo explained there are hundreds of people in the area who suffer from various eye conditions, but are unable to afford the cost of medical care to correct the defects whereby called upon residents to utilize the opportunity to identify any visual impairment and for all who will require spectacles and medicines will be supplied free of charge.
The mine's acting general manager, Mr Festo Shayo said that they believe that health is an essential component in the development of every community and that as development partner to Tanzania their support is in line with the government's efforts in the health sector in a bid to create thriving communities.
Lunching the campaign the Acting Mara Regional Medical Officer, Dr Nila Jackson thanked the company for its continued support towards development of the health sector adding that its continued efforts complement government's drive to ensure access to free primary health care for all.
He said that Mara region is facing a huge shortage of health workers whereby he gave an example of eye unit where there is no any eye specialist the situation that forced regional hospital to use a retired eye specialist to provide services twice a week the situation that he said has been a major obstacle to wananchi who need the service for an emergency.
He asked residents of the villages to use the opportunity so that they can get the services at early stages rather than waiting until they reached at high stage and that since the free eye screening campaign was launched at the area residents should turn up in large numbers to embrace it.
Some residents of the area thanked the mine on its support on various social services including health sector.
Mr. Rashid Ramadhani proposed that instead of organizing eyes screening and tremendous campaign once in a year it was the time where the mine has to think on organizing the campaign at least twice a year as many people were in need of the campaign.