Centré Hospitalier Bethesda

A major provider of essential outreach eye health services to the African Great Lakes region.

This eye unit based in Goma, includes a large outreach service within the African Great Lakes region, working within a population of three million in the Goma district and the surrounding areas through institutional and outreach intervention.

The eye care programme collaborates closely with the 'Conseil de Concertation in Goma' (another CBM partner) which subsidises treatment of eye patients. The project is also involved in the practical training of primary eye health personnel.

This project runs information, education and communication programmes which help to raise awareness amongst the community. This includes the public and medical staff, and covers the main causes of blindness, treatments, availability of eye care in the area, and the need for awareness amongst social leaders and medical personnel working in the government sector.

The programme runs mobile outreach clinics to isolated areas and, whenever security conditions permit, the project conducts at least two surgery days per outreach site.

The programme has also started to produce high quality eye drops locally. In 2009, more than 8,000 bottles of eye drops were produced.

2008 was a difficult year for the project and the people of Goma due to insecurity and fighting. 90% of the population from the territories of Rutshuru and Masisi lived in Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps. Trips out of town became very dangerous and even within Goma the patients stopped coming.

The project was able to take part in CBM's Emergency Programme which helped to reach those with disabilities in these IDP camps. This allowed the project to triple the number of operations performed, compared to the previous months when activities had almost been at a stand-still due to the conflict.