PRIORITIES FOR ACTION - HEALTHY AGEING

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IMPACT’s work is about 'seeking not just to add years to life, but also life to years.' We aim to break the traditional link between disability and ageing.

People are living longer, but age can bring with it failing sight or reduced mobility which reduce quality of life, threaten independence, and can trigger other health problems.

For example, cataract is a major cause of visual loss and a problem that is growing rapidly as populations get older – 80% of new cases of blindness are age-related. Prevention is not yet technically possible, but modern cataract surgery offers a quick, safe and effective means of restoring sight. There is a worldwide backlog of people awaiting treatment.

Elderly British people after cataract operations In the UK and Ireland, IMPACT ran the highly successful ‘Operation Cataract’ and ‘Operation Mobility’ schemes from 1987-2002, which used the resources of the community in partnership with the National Health Service to enable over 3,000 elderly people to have their sight and mobility restored with comprehensive and supportive aftercare. ‘Operation Cataract’ was commended by the Department of Health in its ‘Good Practice Guide’ and adopted in many areas.

Elsewhere in IMPACT’s programme, screening identifies older people at risk from conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, while men and women are treated in surgical 'camps' and in our mobile hospitals for age-related conditions such as cataract.

Many of the most common disability-causing diseases faced by older people are the result of dietary factors. Often, they will have been malnourished since childhood which compounds the problem and makes schemes such as home gardening so important.

The Individual IMPACT

80-year old Marcelina had lost her sight due to cataract. She is a widow and her only child had also died. Marcelina gradually withdrew from her community since she could not travel on her own and was unable to attend Mass. Eventually her sister had no choice but to take Marcelina in.

Marcelina received an operation through IMPACT Foundation Philippines and can now see clearly once again. As she puts it, this has also “freed my sister from the burden of looking after me”. This straight-forward operation has restored not only her sight, but also her dignity and independence, as well as that of her sister.

£30 would restore sight to another elderly person with cataract overseas