| Home | Politics | Human Rights | Water | Economy | Education | Sci & Tech | Culture | Sport |
By JULIE HORBAL, SUN MEDIA
19 September, 2007
Dr. Stephen Brodovsky knows a thing or two about eye-opening journeys.
When Brodovsky boarded an Ethiopia-bound plane in early June, the Winnipeg ophthalmologist took with him a box of donor corneas and plans to help reduce blindness in the developing country.
Within seven days of arriving in Jimma, he helped perform five corneal replacements and trained a surgical team to carry on the work.
"They have the knowledge and skills in Ethiopia, but they just lack resources," said Brodovsky. The aid mission was led by Orbis, an organization dedicated to reducing avoidable blindness in developing nations. There are more than 28 million such cases, and roughly a million are in Ethiopia.
With a high incidence of corneal infection and injury in the African country, Brodovsky said there's a high demand for eye surgery. He estimated Misericordia Health Centre, which takes care of the majority of Manitoba's eye surgeries, currently has an average of 90 patients waiting for corneal transplants at any given time and a patient catchment area of 1.2 million.
Ethiopia has a population of more than 80 million and a much poorer general standard of health than Manitoba, said Brodovsky.
"It's a very rewarding trip. The best part is going there and doing the work you do, knowing that you're teaching someone to help them do better," he said. "Rather than do the surgery and leave, you leave the knowledge behind."