President Xiomara Castro inaugurates the Operation Miracle ophthalmology center in the department of Santa Barbara.
by María Josefina Arce
With the collaboration of Cuba, Operation Miracle, an ophthalmologic rehabilitation program that has transformed the lives of millions of poor people in Latin America and the Caribbean since its creation 20 years ago, has returned to Honduras.
The Caribbean nation's solidarity in reviving this initiative was underscored by President Xiomara Castro when she inaugurated an ophthalmology center in the department of Santa Barbara that will help improve care in this specialty in the western region of the Honduran territory.
The program will be supported by Cuban health professionals who will provide consultations and perform surgeries free of charge to patients.
Hondurans are already familiar with the benefits of this project, which first came to the Central American country during the administration of Manuel Zelaya.
However, the coup against Zelaya in June 2009 put an end to the initiative and prevented thousands of citizens from receiving surgeries to restore their sight.
In addition to preventing and treating the main causes of blindness, this social project in the Central American country has made it possible to reintegrate people with blindness into society.
Operation Miracle" is a new opportunity for thousands of Hondurans who will be able to significantly improve their quality of life, and speaks to the commitment of the Xiomara Castro government to build a more inclusive and accessible health system for all citizens.
This program, developed by Cuba and supported by Venezuela, has been a benchmark in the region for two decades. Its benefits have reached low-income people and transformed their lives.
"Operation Miracle was launched in several countries in the region with the creation of ophthalmology centers supported by the Greater Antilles. More than six million Latin Americans and Caribbean people have regained their sight thanks to this initiative.
Its birth, thanks to the humanism of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, came to settle a debt in terms of ophthalmological care for the most vulnerable sectors of Latin America and the Caribbean.
