Top Photo Credit: Chris Hildreth/Rooster Media
First Ever Corneal Transplants in Sierra Leone
In July 2021, Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD, Global Ophthalmology program director, made history in Sierra Leone, Africa, by performing the first corneal transplants ever performed in that country, resulting in eight blind patients gaining vision, some seeing their children for the very first time. This work was made possible by Williams’ 20-year history of working in Africa and a collaboration with Jalikatu Mustapha, MD, then head of the National Eye Programme in Sierra Leone. Mustapha is now the Consulting Ophthalmologist and Deputy Minister of Health, Government of Sierra Leone.
“We believe that this work will generate important research findings regarding the genetics and treatment of major blinding conditions in Africa. We also believe this work will help elevate the status of medical leaders like Mustapha and her colleagues and enable the expansion and improvement of eye care abroad. Most importantly this work will help reduce avoidable blindness and human suffering”
- Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD, Director Duke Global Ophthalmology Program
Eyes on a Miracle
In West Africa, Duke eye surgeon Lloyd Williams is helping local doctors restore sight to the blind, a mission that is both easier and harder than you’d think.
BALU SESAY had been blind for 29 years when Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD first met her. It was a sweltering day in July 2021, in a small hospital exam room in Freetown, the bustling port capital of Sierra Leone. The Duke eye surgeon saw immediately that both of Sesay’s eyes were badly damaged, the right one completely ruined and a milky haze covering the left, both the result of injuries she sustained as a teenager. Now 46 and the mother of five, Sesay had never seen her husband or her children.
What brought her to Freetown, nearly three hours from her home, was a promise she still couldn’t quite believe: that her left eye could be fixed, that her years in the dark might end.
Photo Credit: Chris Hildreth/Rooster Media
Leading A Health Brigade
Grace Prakalapakorn, MD, MPH, has been actively involved in providing essential health care to those who need it most in a variety of places around the world, including countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America.
In March of 2018, Prakalapakorn was an integral member of a health brigade hosted by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Health in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The brigade was deployed to the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix to deliver recommended Zika virus-related pediatric vision, hearing, neurological, and developmental health screenings to infants born to mothers with laboratory evidence of the virus during pregnancy. Exposure to Zika virus creates the risk of microcephaly, as well as other birth defects.
Prakalapakorn, pediatric ophthalmologist and director of international outreach for Duke GO, led the second health brigade as a follow-up in July of 2021 — postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — to provide supplemental screenings to those who were initially examined in 2018, along with others who were previously unable to participate in the specialty screenings.
She coordinated a group of eye care providers including Duke Eye Center orthoptist Sandra Holgado, and former pediatric ophthalmology fellows who now practice across the country: Derek Bitner, MD, Daniel Lattin, MD, and Ann Shue, MD, and Angeline Nguyen, MD, from Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Along with other physicians, audiologists, nurses, and administrative support staff, they delivered services throughout the two-week mission to more than 170 children.
“It is so devastating to see the lives of individuals, families, and communities that have been disrupted due to vision loss, especially when it could have been prevented. Going into these communities, working side-by-side with local providers, and providing care to patients and families is very gratifying. We want to enable all faculty, staff, and trainees at Duke Ophthalmology to have the privilege of participating in these life-changing international outreach missions.”
–S. Grace Prakalapakorn, MD, MPH
Addressing Glaucoma in Ghana and Nigeria
For more than 20 years, Leon Herndon, MD, professor of ophthalmology and glaucoma division chief, has traveled to Ghana, West Africa, to treat glaucoma and has been engaged in ongoing research projects evaluating the high prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma in the region and the differential burden of glaucoma on African-derived populations. Glaucoma is especially severe in Africa due to a lack of awareness and resources among the public and government. Basic diagnostic tools are lacking, drugs are prohibitively expensive, and surgery is risky, on top of other challenges such as food instability and political issues. Expanding his reach in Africa, Herndon recently began collaborating with Jalikatu Mustapha, MD to develop a plan for glaucoma treatment in Sierra Leone.
He also visited Nigeria in 2025 along with two Duke glaucoma fellows to share the experience and importance of global ophthalmology (image left). While there, they performed 23 glaucoma surgeries at Indo Eye Clinic.
The Importance of Philanthropy
The strategic framework of the Duke Global Ophthalmology Program will enable Duke Ophthalmology to build upon decades of successful outreach, education, research, and patient care efforts and make an even greater impact on global eye health and vision.
Duke Ophthalmology must secure substantial philanthropic investment to ensure the long-term success and impact of the Duke Global Ophthalmology program. Seed funding, endowment, and planned giving support is needed to help cover expenses such as:
- strategic planning, infrastructure building, and administrative support
- technology (hardware and software) for international telemedicine consults
- curriculum development for educational programs, and travel expenses to developing countries
- observerships, fellowships, and stipends for visiting international physicians and researchers
- travel, lodging, and living expenses for mission groups in-country
Together, we can make an even greater impact on eye health and vision worldwide.
To learn more about the Duke Ophthalmology International Program and explore ways you can help, contact Ari Gauss, executive director of development, at 919-385-3128 or ari.gauss@duke.edu.