Construction began recently on an eye treatment and care center at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi, Taita Taveta County. The Sh80 million project is funded by the German government through Salus Oculi Keny.
The county’s health department’s flagship project, according to Governor Andrew Mwadime, entails the construction of infrastructure for a theatre. It will also involve the construction of both male and female ophthalmology wards, the optometric unit, as well as other departments.
Mwadime stated that the facility will have modern ophthalmology equipment to provide high-quality eye care services. Part of the project funding would also be used to improve the capacity of medical personnel.
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The devolved unit and Salus Oculi Kenya partnership were hailed by Mwadime. He noted that the eye treatment and care center at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi will help in the achievement of the county’s development goal.
The county becomes the tenth recipient of benefits from the multi-million-shilling eye treatment center. This is according to Thomas Ng’eno, director of Salus Oculi Kenya.
How long it would take to build the eye treatment and care center at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi
The facility, according to Ng’eno, will be operational by the end of the year. It anticipates serving hundreds of patients from the Coast region.
According to County Ophthalmologist Surgeon Dr. Asha Udu, the facility will offer a warm environment for ophthalmology medical practitioners. This would, in turn, greatly enhance the provision of quality eye treatment.
She said that the eye treatment and care center at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi would reduce the number of patients who would have to be referred to other countries and instead offer patients from different parts of the Coast region specialized ophthalmology services.
Patients in need of eye care currently depend on the already congested Fred Hollows Foundation-funded eye facility at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi. The facility, according to her, would also be essential to the region’s attainment of universal healthcare. Additionally, it would also provide a series of services.
The lack of specialist treatment facilities, as stated by Dr. Udu, hinders many people who seek eye health services from accessing them.
