Tunisian ophthalmologists will perform eye operations in the Eastern Cape in January, the Health Department said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Fidel Hadebe said doctors Ahmed Trabelsi, Abdelmajid Bachtobji and Lofti Ben Amor will be working at the Butterworth hospital on a volunteer basis from January 8 to 20.
”They will therefore not be paid any salary… The department will only carry the costs for their accommodation and food during their stay in the country. We have found that the need [for ophthalmologists] is great in the Butterworth area,” said Hadebe.
Tunisia and South Africa signed an agreement of cooperation in the field of health in 1999 and formulated a programme of cooperation in 2004.
The programme includes cooperation in health services, manufacturing pharmaceuticals, health infrastructure and health education.
Tunisian ophthalmologists have already performed a number of operations on South African soil, said Hadebe.
”The programme was active from 2004 but there was a lull … now we are looking at sustaining the programme,” he said.
A meeting between the Health Department and Trabelsi during his stay will examine ways to sustain the programme.
Trabelsi is the president of the Eastern Mediterranean International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and the chairperson of the Nadi Al Bassar Institute in Tunisia.
The doctors arrive in South Africa on January 7. — Sapa