Some facts about CBM its work

• In Africa there is on average 1 ophthalmologist per million population but they are unevenly distributed. By training specialists CBM aims to increase the ratio of specialist per capita.
• At least half of blind people in the world are blind from cataracts, which could be cured. An operation costing €30.00 per adult or €120.00 per child can cure cataracts.
• CBM aims to provide a cataract operation every minute of 2004 as part of their strategy to eliminate curable blindness' by the year 2020.
• River Blindness, caused by a parasitic worm spread by the blackfly, has infected 18 million people and another 40 million are at risk. There is no cure, but it can be prevented. One dose of Mectizan®, costing just €1.00 to provide (or €10.00 for a complete course), will halt the advance of blindness.
• Trachoma has blinded six million people. Re-infection can occur many times, causing the eye lid to turn under, scarring the cornea until the person becomes blind. Trachoma quickly spreads through families and communities. It costs just €3.00 to provide enough Tetracycline eye ointment to treat a whole family.
• Vitamin A Deficiency can cause permanent blindness. This year an estimated 350,000 children will go blind. This can be prevented with two or three vitamin capsules per year. Each tablet costs 0.45¢. CBM was able to distribute over 1,265,000 vitamin A tablets last year.
• CBM - helping people to help themselves. The main role of CBM seconded co-workers is to train national specialists so developing countries have skilled specialists to enable them to help themselves. CBM also provide hospitals and department buildings, together with the equipment necessary to screen and treat patients.
• Flight for Sight is a CBM scheme restores sight to people living in remote areas of Central Africa. Small planes fly medical teams from Nairobi to isolated places, where people have no access to medical services. Although thousands of people have already been given sight, there are many more still waiting. It costs just €2.00 per mile to fly our team of doctors and nurses to these people.
• Vision 2020: the Right to Sight has as its goal, the elimination of all preventable and curable blindness by the year 2020. In 1997 the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised CBM as a professional agency in the prevention of blindness. CBM is proud to be a founding member of the global partnership Vision 2020. For more information about Vision 2020 please visit www.v2020.org