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A groundbreaking ceremony has taken place at Central Hospital in Beira, Mozambique, for the new Invicta Eye Clinic, which will serve as eye-care hub for two million people.
It is being constructed by an international organization called Light for the World.
“Healthcare is a key factor in socio-economic development. Today’s ceremony brings us a step closer to our goal: nobody, neither here in Mozambique nor anywhere else, should lose their eyesight to preventable blindness. At Invicta Eye Clinic, we will be able to perform 1,200 surgeries and treat a total of 25,000 patients per year,” said Prof. Gerhard Schuhmann, ophthalmologist from Austria and board member of Light for the World, at the ceremony.
The new clinic is named after Peter von Bertalanffy’s Invicta foundation, who both contributed significantly to the project.
In Mozambique, just 18 ophthalmologists and 54 ophthalmic nurses serve a population of 23 million, so theoretically one ophthalmologist is responsible for 1.3 million patients.
The training of professionals is a crucial milestone towards light for the world’s mission of improving eye health for all. The new eye clinic will house training facilities that will enable the graduation of ten eye care professionals every two years.
“We are very proud that the Invicta Eye Clinic will be the first training center of its kind outside of the capital Maputo,” said Zacharias Zicai.
Light for the world has been active in Mozambique since 2003. In cooperation with Beira Central Hospital the organisation is implementing a comprehensive blindness prevention program for Central and Northern Mozambique including outreach programs, primary eye care units and professional training.
Light for the world and its programs form part of the Vision2020 initiative aiming to eliminate preventable blindness globally by 2020.