A mission for access to visual care in Mauritania
In November 2024, the M’akako association, based in Limoges, organize the mission “Improving sight to improve life” in Mauritania, with the aim of improving visual health in isolated rural areas.
“The objective is to succeed in helping 1000 people (…) we hope to achieve this. Normally, we examine between 60 and 90 people per day with three opticians” Florent Brouard volunteer optician.
During this 15-day mission, launched on November 22, the team of volunteers plans to carry out approximately 1,000 ophthalmological consultations and distribute glasses, making this often inaccessible care more affordable and available to local communities.
A solid organization for effective field action
The mission is based on careful preparation.
Jean-Christophe Dupuy, vice-president of M’akako: “For this future mission, we have been working on it for over a year. We first collected glasses which we had sorted at theEPNAK in Limoges by the students. »
M’akako volunteers, including qualified opticians, received training adapted to local, sometimes precarious, conditions. On site, ophthalmological consultations will be carried out in temporary structuresinstalled in schools or community centers. The association will then distribute free prescription glasses for patients requiring visual correction, as well as sunglasses to protect against the effects of the sun and sand, omnipresent in this desert region.
Local support and international partnerships
This project is supported by the famous Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissakowhich mobilizes its local networks and provides essential logistical support. In France, several partners, including the EPNAK Limoges Optical School and opticians contribute by providing glasses, optical equipment, and funds.
Why Mauritania?
“We are going to Mauritania because there are only seven ophthalmologists and they are all in the capital” Jean-Christophe Dupuy.
In Mauritania, visual health is a critical issue. Eye care is scarce, with only seven ophthalmologists for a territory of one million square kilometers, most of which are concentrated in Nouakchott, the capital. The prevalence of eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma and trachoma is aggravated by harsh environmental conditions, reinforcing the need for preventive care such as the provision of sunglasses.
A lasting commitment and convincing results
Since 2016, the M’akako association has carried out similar missions in West Africa. In 2023, it distributed more than 700 pairs of glasses in Beninfollowing the success of interventions in Burkina Faso and Benin in previous years. Each mission is an opportunity to raise awareness among local populations of the importance of vision care and to improve the quality of life of beneficiaries.
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