BY EPN
EZULWINI – Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi received funding support worth E200 000 from MTN Foundation towards the Ministry of Health’s Cataract Project. The project is based at the Mbabane Government Hospital and has benefitted mostly the elderly afflicted by cataract, an eye condition that is also one of the leading causes of blindness.
Minister Nkosi’s representative said “In addition to the support for surgical procedures to remove cataracts, the project has also been instrumental in ensuring an uninterrupted supply of eye medication, consumables and surgical instruments. In 2015, MTN donated a 15-seater minibus towards the project.”
Minister Nkosi said that upon screening and positive identification of cataract patients in communities, the bus is utilised to ferry these patients to Mbabane Government Hospital for surgery and back to their communities post-surgery, at no charge. “This has significantly bridged the distance and transport cost barriers for patients, many of whom are needy,” she added.
MTN Foundation Chairperson Busisiwe Simelane echoed the Minister’s words and said that “this is the kind of partnership that MTN Foundation stands for, where there are real-life experiences and where lives are saved. On that note, I would like to sincerely thank and congratulate you for the great job you do.”
