The mobile eye clinic is used for the first time in 2013 in Mora in the Extreme North region of Cameroon. As of 2014, the German association Augenhilfe Afrika assumes the costs for the usually four annual examination and operation campaigns. These take place across all regions of Cameroon.
The team arrives by car, train or plane, depending on the circumstances. All material required for the examinations and operations is carried along. In addition to the examination equipment, this includes the sterilizer, the operating table, the surgical microscope, the surgical instruments, the anesthetic and bandages, the medication for aftercare and a complete optician’s workshop. This means that tailor-made glasses can be made directly on site and given to the patients. The total weight of the luggage to be carried with each campaign is significantly more than 200 kg.
Here are the campaign locations for 2016 – 2020:
Before the start of a campaign, patients and their relatives regularly gather in large numbers at the scene. And the examinations on the diseased eyes soon begin. These are then operated on if necessary, bespoke glasses are made, and often at the end of the campaign a group picture is taken with happy patients who can finally see again.
The following photos, taken during various examination and operation campaigns, give an impression of the process.
Waiting patients and their relatives, Eséka 2017
Preliminary talk of Dr. Raoul Cheuteu with patients, Mora 2014
Examination room, Ngaoundal 2019
Examination with a slit lamp by MTA Anthony Akpeny, Ngaoundal 2019
Examination with retinoscope by Dr. Cheuteu, Ngaoundal 2019
Optician Alexis during a test of eyesight, Eséka 2017
Optician Dominique grinding glasses, Eséka 2017
Optician Dominique in conversation with patient, Eséka 2017
Dr. Cheuteu and patients with new glasses, Ngaoundal 2019
Patients are waiting for their operation, Eséka 2017
15-year-old Achiyatou with cataracts on both sides on the operating table, Ngaoundal 2019
Achiyatou the day after the operation, Ngaoundal 2019
Achiyatou three months after the operation, Ngaoundal 2019
Prof. Dr. Giles Kagmeni during an operation, Eséka 2017
Dr. Cheuteu during an operation, Ngaoundal 2019
Patients after their operation, Ngaoundal 2019
Dr. Cheuteu (left) and Prof. Dr. Kagmeni with patients, Mora 2014
Dr. Cheuteu with happy patients who can see again, Mora 2014
In total, more than 10,000 eye examinations and over 1,400 operations could be carried out with the mobile eye clinic by the end of 2021. Here are the numbers for the years 2014 – 2020:
We hope that in the future there will be many more campaigns with which we can help blind and visually impaired people.