On Thursday, April 16, 2009, NYU’s Master’s Program in Global Public Health will present “Preserving & Promoting Health in Africa: Reflections From the Only Ophthalmologist for 2 Million People in Northern Ghana,” an informative discussion lead by Dr. Seth Wanye, who is the only ophthalmologist in the northern region of Ghana. The discussion will be moderated by Mark Sherstinsky, O.D.

The event begins at 6:15 p.m. at NYU Kimmel Center, Room 900 (9th floor), located at 60 Washington Square South, New York, N.Y. This event is free and open to the public.

Ghana is a country with over 20 million people, and only 48 qualified ophthalmologists serving the entire population - or 1 per 396,000 people. It is widely acknowledged that the single major cause of increasing numbers of visually impaired Ghanaians is the lack of qualified eye care staff in the country. The number of practitioners trained to treat eye and visual disorders has been dropping yearly, as skilled clinicians continue to leave the country; yet the population of Ghana is expected to nearly double by 2020, and there will be a greater need than ever for optometric and ophthalmic services. Dr. Wanye will discuss the unique challenges facing health professionals working in austere conditions and gives us his own insights into the current state of health care in Africa.

  • Dr. Seth Wanye is an ophthalmologist at The Eye Clinic of Tamale Teaching Hospital in Northern Ghana and a member of Unite For Sight’s Medical Advisory Board. In 2004, Dr. Wanye became Regional Ophthalmologist and Coordinator for Trachoma Control Program for Northern Region, Ghana. Dr. Wanye is the only ophthalmologist serving 2 million people in Northern Ghana.
  • Dr. Mark Sherstinsky is a NYU Master’s Program in Global Public Health MPH Candidate in Health Policy and Management, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the SUNY State College of Optometry, where he supervises an ocular disease residency and is the Chief of Eye Care Service at the East New York Diagnostic & Treatment Center.

To RSVP, please visit www.nyu.edu/mph/events.

Press Contact

Robert Polner
Robert Polner
(212) 998-2337