The Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masashi Ogawa, signed a grant contract to provide various ophthalmological equipment to the Rural Health Education and Service Center (RHESC) in Gokarneshwor Municipality. The grant contract was signed between the Embassy of Japan and the Chairman of the hospital Bal Prasad Shahi.

The Project for the Installation of Ophthalmological Equipment for the Community Health Center in Gokarneshwor Municipality is funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Japanese Government. The total grant assistance is USD 84,138 (NPR approximately 8.6 million).

The project will support the installation of cutting-edge equipment such as an operating microscope, slit lamps, retinoscopes, a phaco emulsification system, etc. for use in diagnosis and surgery.

RHESC was established in 1986 with the support of a Japanese nurse, Masako Yamane, and a Japanese NGO, Japan-Nepal Human Development Association. It has since been providing medical services to people at a low cost.

The ophthalmological equipment can assist the center to offer a wider range of services, including accurate check-ups, surgeries and eye camps for schools in the suburbs of Kathmandu. It can also provide direct treatment to local patients in these areas, and thus eliminate the need to refer them to hospitals in Kathmandu itself.

”The Embassy of Japan hopes that this project will contribute towards enhancing the ophthalmological service provided by the center and assist towards reducing eye diseases in the suburbs of Kathmandu. The Embassy also hopes the assistance will contribute towards enhancing the bilateral relationship between Japan and Nepal,” said a press release issued by Embassy of Japan.