Our Impact
We measure outcomes, not just outputs.
At Unite for Sight, we track the number of patients living in poverty who receive eye care through the outreach programs and the number of patients with significantly improved vision after surgery. Unite For Sight requires extensive documentation from each eye clinic partner, including preoperative and postoperative visual acuity data, which is analyzed to ensure the quality, effectiveness, and social impact of the programs. We also assess the effect of the Unite for Sight partnership on each eye clinic's cataract surgical rate. For example, in Ghana, Unite For Sight has enabled Crystal Eye Clinic's ophthalmologist to increase his annual surgical volume from 600 to more than 2,900 surgeries, and 86% of his surgeries are now provided for patients living in extreme poverty. Learn more about why measuring outcomes are essential in global health: http://www.uniteforsight.org/outcomes
Unite For Sight Builds Local Capacity: Ghana Case Study Example
Unite For Sight significantly builds local capacity by investing in its local eye clinic partners. In recent years, there have been a total of 69 ophthalmologists in Ghana, and four of Unite For Sight's partner ophthalmologists in Ghana provided close to 50% of all surgeries provided to Ghanaian patients, and these surgeries are specifically for patients living in extreme poverty. Also, this figure does not include the other surgeries provided by the Ghanaian ophthalmologists for paying patients who receive care independent of Unite For Sight.
Four of Unite For Sight's partner ophthalmologists in Ghana (6% of the country's ophthalmologists) provided close to 50% of all surgeries provided to Ghanaian patients living in extreme poverty
Building Local Capacity
Prior to Unite For Sight's partnership, each Ghanaian partner ophthalmologist provided approximately 500 cataract surgeries per year to patients who were able to access and afford care. This surgical capacity is in line with Ghana's current national average of 405 surgeries per year. In order to reach Ghana's Vision 2020 goal, each ophthalmologist is expected to provide 1,066 cataract surgeries per year. After partnering with Unite For Sight, each eye clinic partner provides an average of 2,500 cataract surgeries annually. This total includes continued surgical care for paying patients, coupled with Unite For Sight-supported surgical care for patients living in extreme poverty who are otherwise unable to access or afford care.
In Tamale, Ghana, ophthalmologist Dr. Wanye is the only ophthalmologist for the region’s 2 million people. Prior to working with Unite For Sight, Dr. Wanye often went months without performing a single cataract surgery because the community members could not afford the cost of surgery. Due to his partnership with Unite for Sight since 2005, Dr. Wanye was able to provide 4,200 cataract surgeries in a single year. Additionally, Dr. Wanye and his team provide eye care for more than 70,000 patients per year who are living in extreme poverty.
In Accra, Ghana, Unite For Sight's support has enabled Crystal Eye Clinic to more than quadruple its annual number of surgeries, and 86% of surgeries are now provided to patients living in extreme poverty. Unite For Sight annually sponsors more than 2,250 surgeries provided by Crystal Eye Clinic for patients living in extreme poverty, and Dr. Clarke and his team provide eye care to more than 45,000 patients each year who are living in extreme poverty.