About the International Eye Foundation

SightReach® Management in Action:

Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology

Moshi, Tanzania 2001 to Today

In 2001 when the Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO) was first established by Dr. Susan Llewallen and her husband Dr. Paul Courtright, the IEF was there to offer support. In one of their first projects, IEF agreed to assist the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCCO) Eye Department here in Moshi, Tanzania to increase service provision and create a better basis for financial and organizational sustainability. The expertise IEF had developed in the field of sustainability was critical to helping the KCCO. After the initial successful experience with the KCMC Eye Department and IEF's skills transfer to KCCO leaders, KCCO hired a full time "sustainability planner" based on the IEF's model. He has now helped a number of small hospitals in eastern Africa to put in place management systems that allow them to show how their money is spent, measure cost recovery, focus on quality of care and services, and keep good track of the patients being served - and that number has increased! In fact KCCO is now hiring a second full time sustainability planner and looks forward to helping even more hospitals become efficient, productive and sustainable in future. There is increasing appreciation for the role of good management systems in delivering high quality eye care.[ IEF Programs ]

“KCCO was one of IEF’s first 7 sustainability partners chiefly because of Susan’s strong interest in sustainability” said IEF President Sheffield. Susan and Paul have incorporated management and sustainability training in their course list at KCCO and we were pleased to recognize KCCO as a member of the IEF “SightReach® Management” network when Dr. Lewallen visited Washington, DC in May. KCCO will host IEF Board members and friends in February 2009 to see first hand the significant contributions being made to the prevention of blindness in Africa.

With the goodwill of key leaders at the KCMC Hospital and Eye Department, and support from IEF's SightReach® Management program, KCCO took on the challenge of leading the change initiative in the Eye Department. The community outreach program that attracts patients to the Eye Department is a real partnership supported by the Seva Foundation, Seva Canada, SightSavers International, local Lions Clubs, Christoffel Blindenmission, and the Kilimanjaro Regional and District Ministries of Health. The Table below shows some changes since the transformation began:

*This includes all adult and pediatric cataracts operated at KCMC. The Eye Department provides about 750 additional cataract surgeries/year outside Kilimanjaro Region, which are not included in these statistics.

The KCMC Eye Department has not yet reached its service delivery goals, nor is it clear yet what proportion of costs can eventually be recovered given the circumstances and socio-economic environment in which the hospital works. Karibuni Macho was initiated in 2002, but if successful, it will never be finished. That's because successful institutional change requires a commitment to continual change, the choice to look constantly for ways to improve existing systems to serve patients with better quality services. Technical and managerial skills, coupled with open, thoughtful, strong leadership is essential to the process.

We hope that others may learn from the experiences at KCMC. [ Back to SRM ]

The IEF's blindness prevention and sight saving programs are funded by governmental, foundation, and corporate contributors, as well as individuals like you who generously donate online. Our website showcases our successes and our breadth of services to the developing world. Feel free to contact us with specific questions or requests. [ IEF Programs ]