Martin Muleya
As the sun rises over the bustling streets of Mutare, Zimbabwe’s eastern border city, a growing number of elderly citizens are struggling to see the world around them.
Cataract surgery, glaucoma and far-sightedness are just a few of the vision-related challenges that are increasingly affecting this vulnerable population.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of vision impairment in Africa. The majority of those affected are over the age of 60years and the numbers are only expected to rise as the population ages.
For 69 year-old Irene Sagonda, from Mapara village, Watsomba, cataract surgery has been a game-changer. After undergoing surgery at Baines Trauma Centre in Mutare, Gogo Sagonda’s vision was restored and she can now see the world around her with clarity.
“I stayed for five years having problems with my eyes, clueless also whether this ailment was curable or not. After some time I heard that Old Mutual was going to perform free cataract surgery to the elderly at Baines Trauma Centre and that is when I also registered my name.
“I have scars on my knees and legs due to the injuries I sustained as a result of poor eyesight. I could hardly see anything while walking. After this surgery am now able to see clearly just the way I used to see objects and people when I was still young,” said Gogo Sagonda.
Betty Chitaka (60) was diagnosed of an eye cataract and needed a whooping US$1 200 to undergo surgery.
“Gogo Chitaka had given up life in the urban areas and opted to stay in the rural areas while we take care of her upkeep through vending in town. It was really a tough time for us as her children. Now we feel elated that our mother can now see clearly, am sure she had long forgotten our faces. The US$1 200 that had been initially demanded by other doctors we did not even have it but we are forever grateful to Old Mutual for bringing this medical outreach to senior citizens,” said an elated Gogo Chitaka’s daughter Susan.
Far sightedness, or presbyopia is another common issue affecting the elderly in Zimbabwe. As people age, their lenses lose flexibility, making it harder to focus on close objects. This makes everyday tasks like reading and cooking a challenge.
However, not everyone is as fortunate. Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness is a growing concern in Zimbabwe.
Dr. Ronald Mhizha one of the pioneers of Pine Institute, in an interview with The Midweek Watch on the sidelines of a week-long Old Mutual medical outreach program, explained that his organization’s partnership with Old Mutual stems from the fact that the country was facing difficult times in terms of health delivery.
“We are seeing more and more cases of glaucoma, especially among the elderly. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss.
“We are trying to look at different models of doing things. Most of our patients we deal with are the elderly at the age of 65 years and government policy stipulates that these people are treated for free, which becomes a challenge for us.
“A lot of pensioners have difficulties in terms of accessing quality health system. So we are looking at a model that can be presented to the Government in future in terms of how private public partnerships can be put together in terms of delivering health services.
“We are running a campaign where we are doing cataract services to patients who are not new, they have been screened over the past years. The challenge is providing the whole surgery as well as spectacles to those who need.
“What we are looking at mostly is the burden of cataracts presbyopia and glaucoma, those are the major challenges we face in the country. Most of the time majority of patients who need cataract surgery which they never used to access are the same patients coming for the same problem.
“We decided to look for partners who could sponsor these patients the surgery, hence we partnered with Old Mutual as a pilot project, to see whether it works in Manicaland and then roll it out to other provinces,” Dr. Mhizha said.
He advised the youths to ensure that they undergo regular eye checks as they spend most of their time on laptops and cellphones and be well versed with the problem that come along from chronic exposure to screen time.
Despite these challenges there is hope!
