Prime Minister Philemon Yang on March 29, 2017 chaired the official commissioning ceremony of the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute Referral Hospital.
Cameroonians and other people from the Central African Sub-region no longer have to be evacuated abroad for eye and other ophthalmological related problems. This is thanks to the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute Referral Hospital located in Oback, Okola Subdivision in Lekie Division of the Centre Region which Prime Minister Philemon Yang officially commissioned on March 29, 2017.
The Prime Minister personally represented President Paul Biya in the event to commission the hospital. It is the first of its kind in the Central African Sub-region and was opened to the public in September 2016. The hospital is a gift whose plan was set in motion by the Magrabi Foundation (MF), International Council for Ophthalmology (ICO) and the Every Life May Count Foundation. It was founded and established by the Africa Eye Foundation. The institution cost more than FCFA 8 billion (16 million U.S. Dollars) and FCFA 5.2 billion has already been raised.
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, the General Manager of the Hospital, Professor Daniel Etya’ale said it was a centre of excellence, training and a centre with strong and ongoing links with the community. This is thanks to the services it offers that are general ophthalmology, paediatric ophthalmology, cataract surgery, LASIK refraction surgery, retinal surgery, complete Glaucoma management, retinal disorder, orthoptics services and strabismus and oculoplastics. With the mission to preserve and give eyesight to the greatest number of people in the Central African Sub-region, the Oback Eye Institute Referral Hospital, is a bilingual training centre in sciences of sight, research centre, tele-medicine centre, training centre for the maintenance of equipment and has community vocation to promote eye care. Professor Etya’ale said the hospital sets out to serve as a pilot and catalyst, to lift up eye care services and also to train and equip African experts of tomorrow in eye care.