A little known program by the Hadassah-Hebrew University Hospital in Jerusalem to aid the prevention of blindness in developing countries of Africa, was described to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today by Prof. I.C. Michaelson, an ophthalmic surgeon who heads the department of ophthalmology at Hadassah-Hebrew University Hospital.
Here on a six-month sabbatical during which he plans to establish a two year course for postgraduate students in ophthalmology the 69 year-old, Edinburgh-born physician told the JTA that his department has been active for 12 years in aiding African countries to develop ophthalmological services. He said the program began in Liberia in 1960 and since then the Jerusalem hospital has sent trained teams of eye surgeons and nurses to Tanzania, Malawi and Ruanda and more specialized help to Kenya and Ethiopia.
Dr. Michaelson said the 23 doctors on his staff train for five years in Jerusalem and spend two years in the field. They have performed 25,000 operations since 1960 and examined three million patients. He said the program continues to be well received in the host nations. Dr. Michaelson attributed this to the affinity of Third World countries with Israel, itself a developing nation.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
