IOM has signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to
provide eye care services to people in seven tsunami-affected
districts of the country.

Over 100,000 people from tsunami-affected communities and
low-income families will benefit from the IOM project funded by the
Australian Red Cross. The objective is to reduce visual impairment
among people through improved accessibility to ophthalmologic
diagnosis and care via mobile eye clinics.  Following the
tsunami, many survivors lost their spectacles and have been
displaced into unfamiliar surroundings.

"Loss of sight is not merely a medical problem but has huge
psychological consequences for the affected people," says Dr. Qasim
Sufi, IOM Sri Lanka's Health Coordinator. "In many cases, it is
possible to alleviate the suffering through appropriate medical
care. This can open up economic and social opportunities to the
affected people and reduce any additional burden on their
families."

IOM will organize mobile eye camps in the districts of Ampara,
Batticaloa, Hambantota, Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Trincomalee in
collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka College of
Ophthalmologists and the World Health Organization. If
sight-related problems are detected, beneficiaries will receive
treatment or spectacles. Also, IOM will support cataract operations
by providing lenses and equipping local hospitals to perform the
surgeries.

"IOM will coordinate the project and local health officials will
be responsible for providing the necessary medical care to people.
The idea is to transfer the management of the project to the Sri
Lankan authorities in the long term. That's the only way to ensure
the sustainability of the project," said Christopher Gascon, IOM's
Sri Lanka chief of mission.

One of the key aims of the project, which follows from a pilot
eye care programme carried out last year, is to build the capacity
of the health system to meet the eye care needs of the communities.
Local health workers at both the community and hospital levels will
receive training, and eye care centres will be provided with basic
medical equipment and supplies. The project will also involve a
health education campaign to make the communities aware of major
causes of visual impairment and how best to prevent it.

For more information please contact:

B. Ranjitha

IOM Sri Lanka

Tel: +94-115-333-432 / +94-0773597349

Email: "mailto:ranjithab@iomsrilanka.org" target="_blank" title=
"">ranjithab@iomsrilanka.org