The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Speech given by The Countess of Wessex at the opening of a new hospital ward in Dar Ed Salaam, Tanzania, 8 July 2004

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure for me to be here in Dar Es Salaam, in the CCBRT hospital, opening this new ward. But before I carry out such a pleasant task, perhaps I may tell you a little about the background and reason for my visit to Tanzania.

Just over a year ago I accepted the invitation to become Patron of VISION 2020: the Right to Sight. I was shocked when I heard about the numbers of people in the world today who are needlessly blind. About 45 million have no sight, and around 135 million have low vision, which means that nearly 180 million people across the world have some degree of visual impairment. 90% of them live in the poorer countries of the world where they are 5-10 times more likely to go blind than those living in the developed world. It is estimated that at least 7 million people become blind each year and yet 80% needlessly so. Yes, that's right - 8 out of 10 of those who become blind do so unnecessarily!

However, I was impressed to hear of the positive collaboration that exists between the non Governmental Organisations and the World Health Organisation, in trying to eliminate avoidable blindness - the treatments of which, by the way, are among the most successful and cost-effective of all health interventions. Yesterday I met with some NGO partners at the offices of Sight Savers International and heard about what they, Helen Keller International and the International Trachoma Initiative are doing here in Tanzania.

Over the last year I have discussed at length the work of the VISION 2020 programme, with those who are implementing it. On World Sight Day I attended the launch of the Government 'Tool Kit', specifically designed by the VISION 2020 group to assist governments and their partners worldwide prepare, develop and deliver their Blindness Prevention Plans. This follows the commitment made by Governments last year at the World Health Assembly to support the VISION 2020 programme and so move closer towards the elimination of avoidable blindness - this was I might add a vitally important step forward in the worldwide campaign.

My visit this week to Tanzania gives me a further opportunity to hear more about the issues and solutions, as well as to see for myself how the VISION 2020 partners and the local organisations are together making a real difference in a country like Tanzania.

As soon as I arrived I was privileged to see the work at the direct referral site in Boma NGombe in Hai district. There I saw the highly efficient and effective community eye care programme of Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology offering help to a wide spectrum of patients including a lovely elderly lady who was receiving surgery for trachoma out of the back of a Landover, thus giving immediate relief to a very painful condition which has saved her from going blind. Many of the people I saw and spoke to had come from miles around to receive basic treatment that in the UK we take for granted, is on our doorstep. I wonder would we in Britain contemplate walking for 2 days to have our eyes tested?

I saw a number of referrals from Boma NGombe, who were being followed up at the KCCO, a really pioneering eye care facility, where they could be fully treated. Their programme, which is able to identify the neediest patients, ensures that they receive the best possible treatment available and appropriate. I also had an opportunity to speak with some of the patients and it was clear just how much they valued the service.

I shall never forget the beautiful smile of a 93 year old woman whose sight had been restored after a cataract operation, nor hearing the infectious giggle of a toddler who now, thanks to basic but vital eye surgery, will be able to lead a constructive and useful life within his family and community. This would not have been the case just a couple of years ago. And you should see the pride on the faces of the people who are doing such wonderful work.

Centres like the KCCO, and indeed here in CCBRT too, do not accept that they should be providing a service that is lower in quality than one might find in a wealthier country and as such they are working hard to achieve a high level of treatment and care to as many people as possible.

For example, in line with the key principles enshrined in the VISION 2020 programme, I have met and seen well trained staff at all levels. These staff have implemented systems, which enable people with eye care problems to be identified often in remote villages. This is done in such a way that they can receive the appropriate treatment locally or at a centre of excellence such as CCBRT or KCCO. And the equipment available is used in such a way that the service becomes sustainable in the long term.

Talking of sustainability, I shall be leaving here to go to the Ministry of Health. There I hope to discuss how services, such as this one and others being developed and managed by the VISION 2020 partners, will fit into Tanzania's Blindness Prevention Plan.

Just over a year ago Mike Whitlam, Chief Executive of VISION 2020, who is travelling with me, met Dr Abdalla, the Minister of Health, and discussed with her how the NGOs working in this country could help the National Blindness Prevention Committee develop a national plan. There has, I know, been much activity and we will hear from those present at the meeting just how the plan is developing.

It is vital for the future of any Blindness prevention plan, that it becomes fully integrated into the healthcare system of each country. This requires the NGOs, the national and local Government bodies and the commercial sector to work together to ensure success and sustainability.

This visit to Tanzania is about recognizing the importance of the VISION 2020 global programme as well as encouraging those involved in developing the VISION 2020 programmes in Tanzania to continue to do even more to help prevent thousands of people from becoming unnecessarily blind or visually impaired.

Don't be under the impression from any of what I have told you that we are about to win the war on sight loss in Tanzania. Many organizations have done much already but the battle has only just begun and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

The gift of sight is precious and is something we must protect, because the implications of not doing so are a real financial and human cost and the implications of not taking action are serious. The solutions are there for the taking, but we need alot of help in order to be successful in our quest.

Thank you for the warmth of your welcome here to Tanzania and it now gives me great pleasure to open this new ward in CCBRT hospital, which is to be named the VISION 2020 Ward.