Narok County in Kenya, a mix of urban and rural, is home to more than a million people.
A significant number of people belong to the nomadic Maasai and Kalenjin tribes, who were
nomadic before but are now settling down, with an increasing prevalence of non-communicable
diseases including diabetes and hypertension.

There is no retina specialist in the area. The Narok County Hospital has a small eye department,
but there is no ophthalmologist on staff. The work in the eye clinic is managed by clinical
officers who are trained to identify and treat cataracts and trachoma but do not have training
in retinal disease evaluation or management.

The hospital's diabetes clinic sees about 50 patients a day, with no one to screen them for
diabetic eye disease. In addition, more patients are being diagnosed with issues such as retinal
detachment and ocular trauma. In addition, patients from the county do not travel to other
counties because of distance and the cost of treatment.

We partner with AC Litein Mission Hospital and the County Health Officials in providing
specialized retinal care to the patients who need it. An Ophthalmologist from the County Health
Department, Dr. Samuel Langat, who is a trained ophthalmologist with some amount of training
in retinal disease management, sees referred retinal patients. Patients who need advanced
treatment are referred to a hospital that can provide such treatment.

With the help of a handheld fungus camera from Phelcom, we provide screening for patients.
Mike Toroitich, a Clinical Officer at AC Litein, takes retinal images of patients and works with Dr.
Langat and Retina Global retina specialists to make a diagnosis and provide treatment as
required.
 

The goal of this program is to develop the facility with retina-specific instruments and a
fellowship-trained retina specialist who will not only be able to examine patients and provide
standard of eye care, but also train another set of ophthalmologists who can take over if
required.