WEEMA is one of 2 winners for health "best practice" in Ethiopia! Hundreds of organizations applied, and we were selected after a rigorous process that included site visits and interviews.
We have demonstrated our partnership with Himalayan Cataract Project as a best practice for its high quality of care, superb medical training, and active involvement of all local stakeholders such as health centers, hospitals and government officials.
WEEMA International and Himalayan Cataract Project have partnered on three successful cataract campaigns with two different hospitals in southern Ethiopia. 2,343 surgeries have been performed for over 2,000 patients of all ages- all for free!
The Himalayan Cataract Project has performed thousands of cataract surgeries across Ethiopia and around the world and is a finalist for the prestigious MacArthur 100&Change Grant.
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world. Cataracts can be cured with a simple, cost-effective procedure. Restoration of sight is life changing for both patients and families.
DETAILS ABOUT THE AWARD:
WEEMA is a member of the Ethiopian Civil Society Health Forum (ECSHF), a network of hundreds of local and international NGOs working in the health sector in Ethiopia. The ECSHF is also a thematic forum of the larger CCRDA, a consortium of hundreds NGOs engaged in various development activities in Ethiopia. In March, WEEMA responded to a call for “best practices” from the ECSHF. The submission presented our cataract campaign work as successful not only in terms of patient impact, but also as an exemplary model of local capacity building and collaboration among multiple partners. WEEMA passed through three rounds of judgement before being named a finalist.
During the application process, our submission was circulated among hundreds of ECSHF and CCRDA members and judged by representatives from CCRDA and large international NGOs. This alone has already drawn increased attention to the prevalence of cataracts and the potential of local high volume cataract surgical campaigns. Now as one of the two chosen best practice finalists, our work will be featured in a short documentary film produced by CCRDA and ECSHF about the work of clivil society organizations (CSOs) in Ethiopia. The film will be debuted at the National CSOs Health Summit, as well as distributed to the Federal Ministry of Health, UN agencies, international organizations, CSOs and relevant public health communities.
