More than 1,000 residents in the Mbeya region are expected to undergo free cataract surgery as part of a special eye care medical camp currently underway.
The announcement was made on May 14, 2025, by the Mbeya Regional Medical Officer, Dr. Catherine Nyema, during a visit to the ongoing outreach program focused on restoring sight to individuals suffering from cataracts.
The camp, organized through a partnership between the Government of Tanzania, the Helen Keller Foundation, and Mbeya Regional Referral Hospital, aims to eliminate preventable blindness and improve quality of life for affected individuals.
“Our goal is to build a community that is healthy, productive, and actively involved in development,” said Dr. Nyema.
“To effectively reach those in need, we adopted a household-level outreach approach using community health workers. This strategy helped us identify many individuals who required treatment but lacked access to accurate information. Strong collaboration with local communities has significantly boosted the success of this initiative,” she added.
Dr. Nyema further revealed that screenings have identified over 1,200 individuals with cataract-related vision problems.
“This highlights the scale of the issue and the critical importance of continuing these mobile medical services. For many patients, this is a life-changing opportunity to regain their sight,” she emphasized.
Meanwhile, Dr. George Kabona, Executive Director of the Helen Keller Foundation, stated that the organization aims to reach more than 3,000 people this year across the regions of Mbeya, Njombe, Iringa, and Songwe.
“All treatments are being provided free of charge, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all citizens have access to essential eye care services,” said Dr. Kabona.