With vision, we can observe the world more intuitively and feel the colors and details of life. However, in South Sudan, vision impairment and eye diseases are a stark reality for many. Aja Kuol, South Sudan's first female ophthalmologist, not only broke gender boundaries and became a pioneer in the field of ophthalmology in South Sudan, but also worked to change the lives of thousands of people and save them from "blindness". In a land plagued by long-term conflict and poor infrastructure, Dr. Kuol and her team braved the odds to reach out to the most remote villages to treat those in need.
Mary has been blind for eight years. She was the mother of three and could only make out the face of her eldest child, while the other two were obscured by the darkness.
■ Dr. Aja Kuol operates on a patient in South Sudan, where millions of people suffer from poor vision and eye-related diseases. Photo credit: Jenny Davies/MAF
It took only 30 minutes for Dr. Aja Kuol to regain her vision.
After the surgery, Mary gazed at her children, carefully observing the details on their faces, noticing for the first time the similarities in their facial features. "These are my children, and I haven't been able to get a good look at their faces for years," she cried.
As president of the South Sudan Ophthalmology Society, Dr. Kuol is the country's first female ophthalmologist and one of only four in the country. Her mission is to bring light to the fragile and isolated communities of South Sudan.
The landlocked country has vast swamps and wetlands, but the country's infrastructure has been damaged by decades of conflict. Two years after the founding of the country in 2011, a bloody civil war broke out, killing more than 400,000 people and continuing until 2020.
■ Cataracts are common in older people and can be surgically removed. Photo credit: Jenny Davies/MAF
As a country about the size of France and with a population of nearly 12 million, there are only 186 miles (300 km) of asphalt roads. It can take days to reach remote villages dotted with muddy trails, and during the increasingly dense rainy season, many roads become completely impassable and very dangerous.
"Because there were so few surgeons, we had to go to the site. We can't wait for people to come to us," Dr. Kuol said. "People in Juba can afford treatment and can even get out of Juba to seek care, but in areas like Kaboeta, people don't have access to services. I practiced medicine everywhere. That's what I do. ”
Dr. Kuol and her team have traveled across the country to perform one eye-saving surgery after another.
Their reach shifted last year when they partnered with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), one of the world's largest humanitarian airlines.
Traveling on a small Cessna plane is perfect for remote airstrips, reducing travel time from days to hours and making it possible to travel to some of the most remote areas of the country.
■ The World Health Organization has set a target to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem by 2030. Photo credit: Jenny Davies/MAF
The surgical team now runs monthly "outreach" missions to deliver life-changing surgeries to isolated communities, and the team camps out in the jungle at night.
In 2023, the team provided vision-saving treatment to nearly 4,700 people at seven sites.
"We treat 100 patients a day, and no one would believe that we are treating such a large population. I operated on 1,000 people in two weeks," Dr Kuol said. "We're all in it. ”
Dr Kuol said the widespread problem in South Sudan is a "lack of awareness" and people don't know that their eye disease can be cured. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.2 billion people worldwide are visually impaired, half of which can be cured or prevented.
Among them, the two most common eye diseases are trachoma and cataracts.
According to the Ministry of Health, South Sudan has the highest active incidence of trachoma in Central Africa, with half of the population vulnerable to the disease. Up to 90% of children under the age of 9 suffer from the disease.
■ Blindness caused by trachoma can be prevented with a simple surgery that takes only 15 minutes per eye. Photo credit: Jenny Davies/MAF
Trachoma is an ancient neglected disease that originated in Central Asia. It was once common throughout Europe, haunting the ancient Greeks and Romans. The disease is now endemic in many of the poorest and most remote areas of Africa, Central and South America, and the Middle East.
It is caused by the Chlamydia trachomatis bacterium and is spread through contact between flies and humans – the leading cause of blindness worldwide. It starts out as a bacterial infection, but if left untreated, it can deteriorate into trachomatous trichiasis – a long and painful process of blindness as the eyelashes scratch the cornea, causing great pain and eventually blindness.
Interventions include the provision of clean water and improved sanitation to reduce breeding grounds for disease-spreading flies. Trachomatous trichiasis can be treated with a simple surgery that takes about 15 minutes to reset the eyelids to prevent the eyelashes from scratching the eye.
Cataracts (clouding of the lens) are also the leading cause of blindness in South Sudan. In the West, cataract treatment is the usual treatment, but for tens of millions of older people in developing countries, this is not the case.
■ South Sudan has the highest active incidence of trachoma in Central Africa, with half of the population of 10.8 million vulnerable to the disease. Photo credit: Jenny Davies/MAF
"Sometimes people have to walk long distances. You'll find people carrying their blanket-wrapped parents on their backs and walking for miles to get to us," Dr. Kuol said. "When you see a sight like this, you pray that your sight will be restored. ”
She added that what pained her was that most of the time, children were forced to become caregivers for blind parents, meaning they could no longer go to school.
The World Health Organization has set a target of eliminating trachoma as a public health problem by 2030, and it has been eradicated in 10 countries around the world, including Ghana, China and Mexico.
But South Sudan still faces significant obstacles, including a lack of funding to reach vulnerable populations at a distance, inadequate access to antibiotics and eye treatment, and an acute shortage of ophthalmologists.
Dr Kuol also said there is also a stigma attached to physical disabilities, with some families hiding their visually impaired or blind relatives for fear they will be blamed.
■ Dr. Kuol is the first female ophthalmologist in South Sudan and one of only four in the country. Photo credit: Jenny Davies/MAF
"They'll tell you no. Let it be. They don't want their families stigmatized...... I don't want to traumatize my family," Dr Kuol said.
Dr. Kuol has dedicated her life to restoring sight to blind patients, and she is no stranger to sacrifice. She was only three years old when the bloody Second Sudanese War broke out, having lost her brother in the conflict, and her family was forced to flee to Khartoum and Lenk.
Despite her displacement, Dr. Kuol pursued a medical degree in Khartoum, where she met her husband, a gynaecologist with whom she later had five children. In 2014, she received a fellowship from the Christian Mission for the Blind to train as an ophthalmologist at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2020, Dr. Kuol decided to return to South Sudan to serve the people of her homeland, leaving her family in Nairobi. Now, she wakes up at 4 a.m. every day to video call her children before they go to school.
"I always felt like I should go back to my hometown to help my community and help people broaden their horizons so they can enjoy life too," she said. I want to encourage young women to get educated, and getting married is not the only way for them...... This will be my legacy to future generations. ”
*Mary is a pseudonym
本文译自The Telegraph的官网文章：How South Sudan’s first female eye doctor is saving thousands from blindness