Turkish medical team conducts eye surgeries in Ethiopia

By Tufan Aktas and Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - No fewer than 900 Ethiopians regained their eye sights after a group of Turkish ophthalmologists conducted cataract surgeries.

A group of Turkish ophthalmologists has made 900 Ethiopians regain their eye sight through cataract surgeries.

The Turkish medical team led by Dost Eli Association’s Vice Chairman ​​Mevlut Yildirim will leave Ethiopia on Saturday after highly successful cataract surgeries they conducted over the past four days.

The team conducted operations on cataract patients in Kemise and Akesta towns in Ethiopia’s Amhara regional state.

“We decided to come to Ethiopia after we had figured out that cataract was a big problem,” Yildirim said, adding: “This is the first time we conduct a large-scale eye surgery in Ethiopia.”

“A man, who had been blinded by cataract for the last ten years, longed to see his child after the operation,” he said.

He said that livestock was also distributed among the humble families.