When a UBC eye doctor saw that two thirds of the blind people in the world were women and girls, he decided to go to the eye of the storm. He went to Africa.
Dr. Paul Courtright and wife Susan Lewallen established an eye centre in 2001 in Tanzania, where women and girls are going blind despite the fact that simple corrective surgery could prevent it. Dr. Courtright and Dr. Lewallen had worked in Malawi and Ethiopia for five years prior to living in Vancouver, so working in a third world country was hardly new for the couple, who have two teenage boys. Other than missing foods like chocolate, cheddar cheese and salmon, Dr. Courtright says life spent riding his bike to work in Africa is quite pleasant.
“We realized that if we were going to make a meaningful difference we needed to move somewhere where we could build up the capacity for the long term,” said Dr. Courtright, during a recent visit in Vancouver where he attended a conference.
“That’s why we said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”
They started the Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, the only one of its kind in Africa. Only 20 per cent of their work is in Tanzania; they also travel to places like Madagascar, Egypt and Malawi. About half to 60 per cent of all blindness is due to cataracts, for both adults and children. The process involves corrective surgery followed by eye examinations and eyeglasses. However, young girls and women who are suffering from cataracts are most often neglected by their families.
Dr. Courtright says the reason females are most greatly affected by blindness is a complex sociological one. A major part of his job involves educating the community so that the solution becomes sustainable.
“Women do not have access to eye care services at same level as men,” he explains.
“They don’t have ability to make decisions in the household on how resources are used. If they have to get surgery, they need the support of the husband, and if they are widowed, the need the support of the kids to do that. And that’s a major issue.
“How can we train others that will help reduce that barrier? It’s about changing attitudes.”
As well, transportation is a huge issue for African families, he says. A grandmother who’s never travelled outside her community isn’t about to hop into a mini van to travel to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately for that woman, once blind, she will often spend the remainder of her life tucked away in a back room of the family home, never seen again.
“If a woman becomes blind she has no place in the household anymore,” says Dr. Courtright.
“So what we focus on is getting women in before they become blind. If you can get them before they are blind they don’t fall into this mode and this disempowering life.
“You can imagine that changing the attitude about gender is a huge undertaking,” he adds. “We try to mentor them through all these steps.”
The centre also works a lot with childhood blindness, and Dr. Courtright’s work has helped hospitals double and triple the numbers of children getting sight-restoring surgery.
He is seeing progress.
“It’s frustrating in one breath but also exciting,” he says. “You’re on the cutting edge of what’s new and how to help things change.”
