Inaugural ceremony of the Ophthalmology Clinic in Madagascar

©CBM

The inaugural ceremony of the Ophthalmology Clinic was held on 17 March 2018. The Ophthalmology Clinic in the public Hospital in Mahajanga is the first public clinic of this kind. It is a significant step toward the promotion of an inclusive community-based eye care.

Inaugural ceremony of the Ophthalmology Clinic at the University Teaching Hospital Androva Mahajanga 17 March 2018

The inaugural ceremony of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the University Teaching Hospital Androva Mahajanga was held on 17 March 2018. The ceremony was well attended by a number of Officials from the Ministry of Health, led by the Minister of Public Health himself, Pr Andriamanarivo Mamy Lalatiana. The event was also attended by the Chief of the region, the Major of the commune, the Director of the hospital and the staff, the representatives from CBM Madagascar and from the project MAHITA.

Through the P2312 MAHITA eye care project, CBM supported the entire renovation of the building allocated to the ophthalmology Clinic. The project also featured the provision of equipment for the theatre surgery, the renovation of the wards for children and other patients, of the waiting room and the outpatient consultation rooms. The total costs of the rehabilitation is 128,975,930 MGA.

The project also features the capacity building of the eye care professionals of the CHU and the communes involved in the project, the provision of consumables, the support for patients from vulnerable groups, and the computerization of the patient circuit.

Access to affordable and quality care service

The Minister of Public Health emphasized in his allocution the importance of the population access to affordable and quality care service. He warmly welcomed the support from CBM to the decentralized efforts by the government. To note, the Androva Hospital is located in Mahajanga, 550km from Antananarivo.

The Ophthalmology Clinic in the public Hospital in Mahajanga is the first public clinic of this kind. It is a significant step toward the promotion of an inclusive community-based eye care.

The MAHITA Mahajanga & Ambohibao eye care project results from the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding between CBM and the Ministry of Public Health in September 2016. The project started in 2017 and will end in December 2019, thanks to the financial support of CBM Germany for a total amount of 392 179 Euros. The project will ensure the access of population of the Western regions of Madagascar to a comprehensive eye care services.