Moran Eye Center Outreach Division Selected for New World Medical Humanitarian Project Award

Frank Sandi, MD, the only ophthalmologist teaching at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, examines a patient during a clinic in February in partnership with the John A. Moran Eye Center global outreach team.
Frank Sandi, MD, the only ophthalmologist teaching at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, examines a patient during a clinic in February in partnership with the John A. Moran Eye Center global outreach team.

New World Medical, Inc., a privately held ophthalmic company dedicated to developing cutting-edge glaucoma medical devices intended to alleviate the suffering of patients globally, has selected the John A. Moran Eye Center’s Global Outreach Division to receive its annual Humanitarian Project Award.

The $50,000 award will support the division’s mission to create sustainable eye care systems by teaching and training physicians and nurses in developing nations where there is little or no eye care available. The division, which will be honored at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting in May, plans to use the funds to expand its long-term commitment in Tanzania, a country with just one ophthalmologist for every 1.6 million people.

The John A. Moran Eye Center global outreach team returned to Tanzania in February to provide hands-on surgical training and to perform sight-saving surgeries in the capital city of Dodoma and other locations.
The John A. Moran Eye Center global outreach team returned to Tanzania in February to provide hands-on surgical training and to perform sight-saving surgeries in the capital city of Dodoma and other locations.

Partnership in Tanzania

Since 2014, the division has partnered with the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital at the University of Dodoma and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health to train ophthalmologists. The effort has provided more than 1,300 sight-restoring surgeries and increased the surgical output at Benjamin Mkapa threefold.

Moran is working with Frank Sandi, MD, who is the only ophthalmologist teaching at the University of Dodoma and is now opening a surgical center thanks to training by Moran physicians. Sandi visited Moran as an observer and continues to improve his surgical skills and output.

Frank Sandi, MD, the only ophthalmologist teaching at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, conducts eye exams during a clinic in February in partnership with the John A. Moran Eye Center global outreach team.
Tanzanian ophthalmologist Frank Sandi conducts eye exams during a clinic in February in partnership with the John A. Moran Eye Center Global Outreach Division.

Expanding Training

Moran is now working to replicate the successful Dodoma training model in the northern city of Mwanza, the country’s most populated region. Physicians have been working with Evarista Mgaya, MD, and Christopher Mwanansao, MD, through training exchanges and hands-on surgical teaching. Mgaya and Mwanansao are working toward establishing their own residency program to increase the number of ophthalmologists who can provide care to the 5 million people in the region.

Learn more about Moran’s international outreach work around the world and in Utah here.