Katima mulilo: Five-hundred patients from the Kavango East and Zambezi regions are expected to benefit from the national cataract surgical campaign that was officially launched here on Monday. The exercise is being jointly carried out by surgical teams from Windhoek Central Hospital, private doctors from Northern Vision Centre, and international medical volunteers from Germany and America. It runs until 17 April 2026 and aims to restore the sight of hundreds of patients.

According to Namibia Press Agency, ophthalmologist Dr. Helena Ndume stated, "We operated on 99 patients (Saturday), yesterday (Sunday) we did 101 and in total we aim to do 500 patients from Kavango East and Zambezi." Zambezi Region Governor, Dorothy Kabula, in her keynote address at the launch, emphasized the national importance of restoring eyesight for community members by eye specialist Dr. Ndume.

Kabula highlighted that cataracts remain a leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide, accounting for 40 percent of visual impairment globally. "Our current statistics covering the 2025/2026 financial year indicate that Katima Mulilo State Hospital attended to 308 cataract patients," she stated. A similar campaign conducted last year in Rundu restored sight for 104 patients, but a backlog of 200 patients remains.

Governor Kabula urged specialists to continue their work, emphasizing the impact of cataracts on the elderly, leading to loneliness and isolation. "Their job is not just an ordinary job, is a gift from God," she remarked. One of the patients from Nyangana in the Kavango East Region, Dominic Kupembona, expressed gratitude for the restoration of his sight, stating that he is now able to see clearly after his surgery on Sunday.