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Nepalese Hospital Gets a New Wing for Eye Care and Research
FrontLines - October 2009
By Kerrin Goodspeed
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The Tilganga Eye Center in Kathmandu
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The people of Nepal can now seek improved eye care in the Tilganga Eye Center's new wing. Completed in April, the six-story, 130,000-square-foot building in Kathmandu houses the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology.
The expansion allows the hospital to treat 1,500 patients at a time and increases the center’s research and training capacity.
USAID provided $3.2 million
to expand the center and purchase hospital furnishings
and equipment through its American Schools and Hospitals Abroad competitive grants program.
The eye center will play an important role in the research, diagnosis, and treatment of eye diseases, as well as the training of eye care professionals. It has 10 community centers throughout
the country to provide primary eye care to Nepalis in remote districts. Tilganga has made cataract surgery affordable
and accessible to the average
Nepali by producing high-quality, low-cost intraocular lenses.
In partnership with the center, the Himalayan Cataract Project sends U.S. professionals to train Tilganga’s staff, provides equipment
for complicated surgeries, and supports the development of sub-specialty eye care.
Days before the center’s new wing opened, the co-founder of the Himalayan Cataract Project, Dr. Geoffrey Tabin, was recognized
by the Dalai Lama as an "Unsung Hero of Compassion" for his efforts to bring high-quality, affordable eye care to the developing world.
Other donor nations and individuals—including the Fred Hollows Foundation, and Australian Aid—also contributed
to the expansion.
★
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U.S. Agency for International Development
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