US-BASED ORGANISATION TO SET UP EYE CENTRE (PAGE 23, JUNE 9, 2010)

Himalayan Cataract Project, a US-based non-governmental organisation, in collaboration with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH ) and the USAID, is establishing an eye centre in Kumasi to undertake eye surgeries on patients.
The project is estimated at $1million and about 14 building contractors are bidding for the project which is expected to begin before the end of June.
Mr Job C. Heintz, Chief Executive of Himalayan Cataract Project, is already in Kumasi to supervise the bidding process to ensure that the best among the contractors is selected for the project to begin.
There is a training component under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the sponsors and the KATH, where ophthalmologists from the KATH would undergo special training to sharpen their skills, while technicians from the hospital would also be offered special training to improve their skills for the eye care.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the signing of the MOU, Mr Heintz said his presence in Kumasi was not only to ensure that there was transparency in the selection of a building contractor for the project but was also to ensure that the best practices were followed to facilitate its early completion.
“ Right now we are reviewing the bids to select the contractor in a week’s time to ensure that the project starts by the end of June”, he stated, and gave the assurance that by the end of June next year, the project would be handed over to authorities of the KATH.
He said they had already secured the needed funding for the project with the USAID as the main sponsor.
Explaining why they selected Kumasi for the project, Mr Heintz said Himalayan Cataract Project and the USAID had been providing capacity building for doctors at the KATH over the years in the University of UTAH in the USA and so far, a number of them had benefited. He also said others had been trained in Nepal.
“ The goal is to increase quality eye care for patients and with the eye centre at the KATH, we hope to use it to train more medical staff not only at the KATH but others from the sub-region” he explained.
“ We want to establish the finest ophthalmology with the finest standard where Ghanaian doctors would be in charge and their counterparts from the sub-region would also receive their training ”, he explained further.
He said the centre would benefit all classes of people, including the needy, to give them a sense of hope, adding that: “The most important part of this clinical care is to ensure that it is measurable and we would undertake a follow-ups to ensure that the guidelines are followed.”
The Chief Executive of the KATH, Professor Ohene Adjei, described the eye as an important organ of the body and said “People with eye problems from the northern sector of the country have to travel outside Ghana to undertake eye surgeries and with this, we would reduce their cost of treatment and the trauma in travelling far to receive medical care.”