Cataracts in South Sudan severely affect the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of people. South Sudan covers 644,000 square kilometres, has a population of 11.5 million and faces significant challenges. Armed conflicts in the country and the catastrophic civil war in neighbouring Sudan have resulted in refugees flooding into northern regions of South Sudan. The stretched, limited healthcare services, including cataract surgery are overwhelmed and the incidence of avoidable blindness is increasing. There are only 6 ophthalmologists in the entire country, and they are all based in Juba, the capital. Juba is 12 hours travel from the poorest region of the Bahr El Ghazal region on bad roads. The Catholic Diocese of Wau, an ESCRS (European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons) partner, provides eye care and cataract surgery in Bahr El Ghazal.
The distance to healthcare is a barrier to the blind to receive cataract surgery as people have to travel for up to 3 days to reach a clinic and have travel even further to get to Juba.
Another barrier is a the cost of surgery. Healthcare in South Sudan is an “out of pocket” expense. And health expenses compete with other family needs such as food and education for children. So healthcare is often low on the priority list. That’s where the ESCRS steps in to subsidize cataract surgery in Bahr El Ghazal so people can afford it and travel less of a distance to travel than to Juba.
The Catholic Diocese charity conducts surgical camps to restore sight to the blind in remote areas of Bahr El Ghazal. Early in 2025 they assessed 13000 people with eye conditions and restored sight to nearly 2000 with cataract surgery. The project was managed by Professor Lado making eye healthcare accessible to the community. The charity and Professor Lado’s team are making a huge difference by enabling the disabled and making the dependent independent. Tatjana Gerber and Professor Lado presented the amazing work they are doing to delegates at the ESCRS Winter Congress in Athens recently.
The ESCRS has a global reach, supporting many other charities in Africa and the Middle East.
