The Deputy Minister for Health, Prof. Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has officially commissioned a state-of-the-art Surgical Eye and Training Centre at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, marking a significant milestone in the government’s efforts to eliminate preventable blindness.
The 33-bed facility is the first of its kind in the Central Region and is designed to function as a primary referral hub for neighboring areas. Equipped with three modern operating theatres, the center offers a wide range of specialized services, including cataract and glaucoma management, refractive care, and advanced posterior segment treatments, effectively removing the need for local patients to travel long distances for complex eye care.
During the commissioning ceremony, Prof. Ayensu-Danquah highlighted that cataracts remain the leading cause of avoidable blindness in Ghana, often due to a lack of accessible surgical options. She revealed that preparatory outreach programs associated with the new center have already screened over 90,000 individuals and successfully treated more than 9,000 eyes, figures that underscore the critical demand for expanded ophthalmic services.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the establishment of this center aligns with the National Eye Health Policy and represents a transformative leap toward achieving Universal Health Coverage in Ghana.
The project was made possible through a strategic partnership involving the Government of Ghana and several international organizations, including USAID, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Cure Blindness Project.
The government supported the initiative by providing essential tax waivers and exemptions on the importation of donated medical equipment. In her closing remarks, Prof. Ayensu-Danquah reaffirmed the state’s commitment to ensuring that no Ghanaian suffers from avoidable vision loss, describing the new facility as a testament to the power of sustained investment and international cooperation in the health sector.
Ruth Abla ADJORLOLO
