OCULAR PROSTHESIS
Maputo Central Hospital, MOZAMBIQUE.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the people affected by orbital tumours arrive at the consultations in such advanced states that there is generally no other option than to remove the eye; if not done, they tend to end up losing their lives.
There is no qualification for this specialty; it is a craft trade that is still passed on from generation to generation. At OCULARIS, we are proud to have the LAISECA Family, as educators, a pioneer in Spain since the mid-19th century. Their first prize obtained for their works dates back to the Universal Exhibition of Paris of 1889.
PROJECT
They are trained to adapt prefabricated prosthesis first, and to manufacture these materials then. The country only has a trained person by our team in the manufacture of these prosthesis during these years.
PHASE 1 (2010 to 2019): Strengthen the basic training of prosthesis adaptation to 5 technicians (1♀ & 4♂, 3 from the Maputo Cental Hospital (MCH) and 2 from the Faculty of Health Sciences (FCS UNILURIO, Nampula). One of the MCH technicians is now fully trained in the manufacturing art with the aim of being the first national teacher in the near future.
PHASE 2 (2020 to 2024): Integration in the OCULOPLASTY and RETINOBLASTOM project described in the ophthalmology section
CONTEXT AND SITUATION IN MOZAMBIQUE
According to data from the United Nations Mozambique (2019), the country is one of the 10 poorest of the world. It is ranked 180 of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (IDH); the average life expectancy is 60 years, one of the countries with the worst living conditions on the planet. This is due to the war-time lasting more than twenty years, natural disasters, illnesses, high population growth, low agricultural productivity and an unequal wealth distribution. Its birth rate has been one of the highest in the world with an average of more than 5 children per mother (greater in rural areas) for more than three decades. The high sustained level of fertility reflects the inequality of gender among women. Low contraceptive use, early marriages and motherhood, and lack of education, especially among women.
Population
MOZAMBIQUE
SPAIN
GDP per inhabitant (€)
(Gross Domestic Product)
SENEGAL
SPAIN
Human Development Index (HDI)
%
MOZAMBIQUE
%
SPAIN
Inequality-adjusted HDI
%
MOZAMBIQUE
%
SPAIN
Life expectancy
MOZAMBIQUE
SPAIN
HDI Ranking
of a total of 189 countries
MOZAMBIQUE
SPAIN
Gender Development Index (GDI)
%
MOZAMBIQUE
%