Dr. Facchiano recently went on a mission to Africa to Burkina Faso with the organization OneSight. Burkina Faso is a French speaking nation in western Africa near the Ivory Coast and is home to roughly 15 million people. It has one of the lowest GDP rates in the world and a recent drought in the region left many of agricultural workers (the most common type of job) without work and without food. Just to give an idea of the poverty level, most people only earn $300 USD a year. That means people live on less than $1 USD a day. This is one of the most impoverished countries in the world.
In terms of access to health care, there are only 6 physicians for every 100,000 people. As I'm sure many can imagine, it is nearly impossible to find dedicated optometrists. For a country that has a life expectancy of only in the mid-40's, there are a shocking number of a vision related problems that steal vision at a young age. Because of the work of the team of eye health professionals, 1,845 people were able to see better or get referrals for more advanced help. According to the OneSight Burkina Faso blog, the phrase of the week was "Je Vois," which translated from French means, "I can see."
I will post more pictures taken by Dr. Facchiano's along with some of his stories in future posts.
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