{"id":1359,"date":"2025-07-12T09:51:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T09:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/?p=1359"},"modified":"2025-07-12T09:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T09:51:53","slug":"burkina-fasos-only-eye-doctor-for-children-sees-the-trauma-of-both-play-and-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/burkina-fasos-only-eye-doctor-for-children-sees-the-trauma-of-both-play-and-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Burkina Faso\u2019s only eye doctor for children sees the trauma of both play and conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Claudette Yam\u00e9ogo, Burkina Faso\u2019s only pediatric ophthalmologist checks on a patient at the Sanou Sourou University Hospital in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. (AP)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isaka Diallo was playing with friends when a stone struck his left eye. For two weeks, his parents searched hospitals in western Burkina Faso for an eye doctor. The village clinic only prescribed painkillers. Other health workers did not know what to do.<\/p>\n

When they eventually found Dr. Claudette Yam\u00e9ogo, Burkina Faso\u2019s only pediatric ophthalmologist, the injury had become too difficult to treat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trauma has become severe,\u201d Yam\u00e9ogo said of Diallo\u2019s condition as she attended to him recently at the Sanou Sourou University Hospital in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. \u201cCases like (Diallo\u2019s) must be treated within the first six hours, but I\u2019m seeing him two weeks later, and it\u2019s already too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a common problem in the country of about 23 million people, which has just 70 ophthalmologists.<\/p>\n

Yam\u00e9ogo, who started her practice late last year, said the work is daunting and often requires her to visit \u2014 at no cost \u2014 families who cannot afford care or cannot make their way to the hospital where she works.<\/p>\n

While there is limited data available on eye defects in children in Burkina Faso or in Africa at large, an estimated 450 million children globally have a sight problem that needs treatment, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.<\/p>\n

Late intervention can significantly alter a child\u2019s future, the organization said, with many such cases in less developed countries.<\/p>\n

In Burkina Faso, an estimated 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas. And yet ophthalmologists are concentrated in the capital, Ouagadougou, and other main cities, making them unreachable for many.<\/p>\n

While more than 2,000 ophthalmology procedures were performed in Burkina Faso\u2019s western Hauts-Bassins region in 2024, only 52 of those were carried out in its more rural areas, according to the Ministry of Health. Most procedures were done in the area of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso\u2019s second city.<\/p>\n

Not many people are aware of Yam\u00e9ogo\u2019s work. Even when they are, traveling to reach her often requires days of planning and financial saving.<\/p>\n

In a further challenge to accessing care, Diallo\u2019s family is among the 2 million people displaced by violence as extremist groups seize parts of the country.<\/p>\n

To visit Yam\u00e9ogo\u2019s hospital from the village where they are sheltering, they had to travel about 40 kilometers (21 miles) on a motorcycle to Bobo-Dioulasso, spending 7,500 francs ($13) on transport, a high price for a small-scale farming family.<\/p>\n

At least 70 percent of the trauma cases in children treated at the hospital come from rural areas where the risk of exposure \u2014 from conflict or from play \u2014 is higher, Yam\u00e9ogo said.<\/p>\n

Examining and treating a child is a delicate practice that requires a lot of time, something many families can\u2019t afford. Many must return home to earn money for the treatment.<\/p>\n

As she treated Diallo, Yam\u00e9ogo noticed that the boy associated a drawing of an apple with a pepper, making her wonder: Is it that he can\u2019t see it, or that he doesn\u2019t know what an apple is? The fruit doesn\u2019t grow in the region where he lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no fixed time for examining children,\u201d she said. \u201cYou need a lot of patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yameogo\u2019s work has had a \u201cvery positive impact on training future pediatricians and on the quality of ophthalmology services,\u201d said Jean Diallo, president of the Burkinab\u00e8 Society of Ophthalmology.<\/p>\n

\u201cA child\u2019s eye is not the same as that of an adult, which is why we need specialists to treat problems early so the child can develop properly,\u201d Diallo said.<\/p>\n

He cited retinoblastoma, a retinal cancer mostly affecting young children, and congenital cataracts, eye diseases that can be cured if diagnosed early. Pediatricians won\u2019t necessarily detect them.<\/p>\n

During another consultation, Yam\u00e9ogo told the family of 5-year-old Fatao Traor\u00e9 that he would need cornea surgery as a result of an injury sustained while playing with a stick.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I feel a pinch in my heart,\u201d Yam\u00e9ogo said as she examined the boy after they arrived from their farm on the outskirts of Bobo-Dioulasso. \u201cHis iris has detached from his cornea, so he needs to be hospitalized.\u201d<\/p>\n

The father, looking overwhelmed, sighed, unsure of where the money for the child\u2019s surgery would come. On paper, Burkina Faso\u2019s government covers the cost of medications and care for children under 5, but often no drugs are available in hospitals, meaning families must buy them elsewhere.<\/p>\n

A surgery like the one for Traor\u00e9 can cost 100,000 CFA ($179), several months\u2019 income for the family.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: arabnews<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Claudette Yam\u00e9ogo, Burkina Faso\u2019s only pediatric ophthalmologist checks on a patient at the Sanou…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,17,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-burkina-faso","category-health","category-sahel"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",640,427,false],"large":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"wpucv-grid-three":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",360,240,false],"wpucv-grid-two":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",600,400,false],"wpucv-grid-one":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"wpucv-classic":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",255,170,false],"wpucv-classic-small":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",150,100,false],"wpucv-galary":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",400,267,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388.jpg",670,447,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4619800-941141388-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Saint Rich"]},"category_info":"Burkina Faso<\/a> Health<\/a> Sahel<\/a>","tag_info":"Sahel","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1359"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1361,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions\/1361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}