A HEREFORD medical student will be travelling 15,000 km on his motorcycle to help save the sight of people living in areas hardest hit by preventable blindness.
Hugo Jobst, who is studying at the University of St Andrews, is undertaking an eight month expedition on his motorcycle throughout India and Nepal to train midwives and nurses with the Arclight Ophthalmoscope, a life-changing diagnostic device.
Beginning in November 2020, Hugo will visit 35 institutions, and train over 1,000 midwives and nurses.
Developed at St Andrews in collaboration with Dr Andrew Blaikie, the Arclight is a solar powered diagnostic device used to examine the eyes and ears, accurately detecting diseases that cause blindness and deafness. Importantly, due to its durability and low production costs, it is designed to be accessible to low-resource areas.
According to The World Health Organisation, there are 250 million people living without sight, 40 percent of these in India alone. Of these people, 80 percent can be cured, but early detection is vital.
Hugo is being supported in his sight-saving quest by Hereford's BBR Optometry. Practice manager Daniel Read said: “The fight against preventable blindness is an ongoing challenge. The people most affected are often the furthest away from appropriate care, but by travelling to rural areas and training and equipping workers, Hugo will be giving many more children the best chance at a fair start to life.
“We wish Hugo all the best and can’t wait to follow his journey.”
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