Accra, Aug. 24, GNA 96 More than 70 Ghanaians, who are distressed by glaucoma and cataract, had received free surgery from a team of ophthalmologists on board the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital, which landed at the Kotoka International Airport, on July 31 2006. The programme, which would end on Saturday, August 26, is expected to train 18 local ophthalmologists, 18 ophthalmologist nurses and 34 bio-medical engineers in Ghana.

This was made known to Vice President Aliu Mahama, on Thursday by officials of the World's only flying Eye Hospital when he boarded the DC-10 jet aircraft accommodating the medical facility to witness its operations.

The three-week Flying Eye Hospital programme is focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of avoidable blindness.

Vice President Alhaji Mahama was shown a video clip on the operations of ORBIS and an edited version of surgery carried out on a patient in Ghana.

Dr Gordon Douglas, a member of the team, told the Vice President that the primary aim of ORBIS was not to teach people about eye surgery but rather how to prevent blindness.

He said the plane had the capacity to carry out operations on 48 patients simultaneously.

Vice President Alhaji Mahama restated his appeal to the US-based ORBIS officials to establish an office in Ghana to cater for West Africa and beyond.

He asked the team to visit Ghana frequently especially in parts of the country where the people were afflicted by onchocerciasis. Dr Gladys Norley Ashitey, Deputy Minister of Health, said the Sector Ministry was liaising with ORBIS to come back next year to cater for Ashanti and the Northern parts of the country.

The Ghana Health Service estimates that 200,000 Ghanaians are blind from all ca uses, while cataract blindness accounted for half of these cases.

ORBIS, a nongovernmental organisation started in 1982, offer public education about blindness, build political and public support for eradicating avoidable blindness and provides technical, material and financial assistance to improve access to ophthalmic services.