Health

For Children in Rural Mozambique, the Future Comes Into Focus

Published

1 year ago

January 28, 2025

For Children in Rural Mozambique, the Future Comes Into Focus

Over the past year, Muanema Fakira noticed something odd about the eyes of her 1-year-old daughter Sumaya. Her left eye was cloudy. It did not gleam with curiosity or glint in the sun. When the problem persisted, Ms. Fakira made the rounds to health clinics in their town in central Mozambique. Doctors said they could not help.

But they knew of someone who could, if Ms. Fakira could take Sumaya, now 2, on a 100-mile journey to the coast.

The family made the trip to the city of Quelimane, where Dr. Isaac Vasco da Gama examined Sumaya’s eyes and quickly diagnosed a congenital cataract.

Ms. Fakira was skeptical — cataracts are for old people, she said. But Dr. da Gama explained that an infection at birth, or shortly after, can cause cataracts in children. The condition is particularly worrying because vision problems affect the development of a child’s physical function. But the good news, he said, was that the problem can be solved with a simple surgery, one he does a dozen times a week at Quelimane Central Hospital.

This was particularly lucky for Sumaya because Dr. da Gama is one of just three pediatric ophthalmologists in Mozambique, a country of 30 million people.

Sumaya had her surgery in November, and a day later headed home, already recovering. Dr. da Gama was pleased to have seen her while she was still young, before permanent damage was done.

It was a sign that a system he and colleagues have been trying to put in place for the last few years might be taking hold: Sumaya’s parents sought help from the medical system for an eye problem — rather than a traditional healer, or a sorcerer to remove a curse.

When Sumaya was referred for care, it was a long and expensive trip, but she got help relatively quickly for a problem that might otherwise have blighted her life. Ideally her cataract would have been spotted at birth by a midwife.

“I do believe that by pushing forward, we can slowly overcome this challenge,” Dr. da Gama said.

In Mozambique, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, awareness of vision problems is so low, and access to help so limited, that few children get the care they need, even though many suffer from easily treatable problems.

In 2021, a global commission on eye health reported that 510 million people around the world, 90 percent of them in low- and middle-income countries, had uncorrected vision impairment. That is, they could not see properly because they did not have glasses.

The consequences are enormous: Children with vision loss in these countries are significantly less likely to be in school. One study found that for those who do attend school, those with uncorrected vision problems learn half as much as their peers with normal vision.

Access to treatment is so limited because of a scarcity of trained staff and a failure to integrate vision care into health systems. Children are not screened for vision loss, and parents and teachers don’t understand the simple causes of eye trouble that can manifest in distraction, lack of physical coordination and behavior issues.

Mozambique has just 20 ophthalmologists, up from six two decades ago. Almost all of them are based in the capital, Maputo, in the south.

Dr. da Gama completed his studies in India in 2017 and set up a clinic in Quelimane, a seaport town halfway up Mozambique’s long Indian Ocean coastline. But to his surprise, he saw very few patients in the first year. He discovered that no one was being referred to him because health workers did not recognize treatable eye diseases. He started traveling to local clinics to tell medical workers about screening and solutions.

Then he teamed up with the charity Light for the World, which had sponsored him to complete specialized training in pediatric eye care in Tanzania. They designed an outreach program to show teachers, community health workers, traditional healers and local leaders how to spot vision problems and to refer children to the new ophthalmology ward at the Quelimane hospital.

Now, a couple of times a year, for up to a month at a time, he takes a mobile clinic to small communities to do surgeries on children with cataracts, glaucoma or strabismus (misaligned eyes).

Cataracts cause nearly half the preventable blindness in Mozambique’s children; they can be genetic, or the result of trauma (like a stick or a stone in the eye), or of an untreated eye infection.

On his outreach journeys, Dr. da Gama teaches other health care workers how to perform the simple surgeries, and how to spot the conditions. “Operating per se is not a problem: We can train in a week, two weeks, how to operate on a cataract,” he said. “But it is how to identify the children who need the operations.”

Mozambique’s Ministry of Health is trying to build awareness of vision problems and refractive errors, for which a pair of glasses is a life-altering intervention.

Glasses or simple surgeries that keep children in school can change the future for their families, and for the country as a whole. “If you have children less educated or with fewer skills,” he said, “the future of the economy is affected.”

In Quelimane, Dr. da Gama also sees cases of retinoblastoma, a cancer of the retina. When patients come early enough, he can save their lives, if not their eyes.

Camilo Rosario brought his daughter Grace, 3, to his clinic in November, from their home in a village 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) away. She had a tumor protruding from her eye that caused her excruciating pain. Mr. Rosario said she had begun to complain about her eye just weeks before. He shifted anxiously from foot to foot while Dr. da Gama explained that he would operate quickly to remove the tumor, but that he feared the disease was already in her brain.

Grace soon recovered from the first surgery, clinging to her father with a bulky bandage around her head. But as Dr. da Gama had feared, she had come to him too late; she died in early January.

Aminata Kaba was screened alongside her classmates in high school last year — and was surprised to learn that she was myopic. After she got glasses, school became significantly easier, she said, and her grades soon improved. Now, she said, she will continue on in school, and she hopes to be a lawyer.

Screening older children is easy; coaxing cooperation out of the small ones is a much greater challenge, Dr. da Gama said. They rarely look where he needs them to for eye exams. The eyedrops, the equipment, even his white coat, all can be frightening. He said he smiles and sings to distract, removing the coat when required.

“I like difficult things,” he said.

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Health

Dementia risk signals could lie in simple blood pressure readings, researchers say

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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Dementia risk signals could lie in simple blood pressure readings, researchers say

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Simple measurements taken during routine blood pressure checks could predict dementia risk years before symptoms appear.

That’s according to new research presented this week at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in Louisiana.

The findings draw on two studies led by researchers at Georgetown University, which suggest that monitoring how blood vessels age and stiffen over time can provide a window into future cognitive health.

LURKING DEMENTIA RISK EXPOSED BY BREAKTHROUGH TEST 25 YEARS BEFORE SYMPTOMS

Data shows rates of dementia and aging-related cognitive decline are expected to increase as populations age, and half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure (hypertension).

Scientists believe that efforts to better address hypertension, a key contributor to heart disease and a risk factor for dementia, could affect both cardiac and brain health.

Data shows rates of dementia and aging-related cognitive decline are expected to increase as populations age. Meanwhile, half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure. (iStock)

“Blood pressure management isn’t just about preventing heart attacks and strokes; it may also be one of the most actionable strategies for preserving cognitive health,” Dr. Newton Nyirenda, the study’s lead author and an epidemiologist at Georgetown University in Washington, said in a press release.

The research focused on two metrics, the pulse pressure-heart rate index and estimated pulse wave velocity. Both were calculated using data collected during standard doctor visits, such as heart rate, age and blood pressure.

“Blood pressure management isn’t just about preventing heart attacks and strokes; it may also be one of the most actionable strategies for preserving cognitive health.”

Researchers examined five years of data patterns for more than 8,500 people in the SPRINT trial, a large study of adults 50 years and older with hypertension. In the follow-up, 323 of the participants developed probable dementia.

HIDDEN BRAIN CONDITION MAY QUADRUPLE DEMENTIA RISK IN OLDER ADULTS, STUDY SUGGESTS

In one study, the team found the pulse pressure-heart rate index was a strong independent predictor of dementia risk in adults over 50. For participants under 65, every one-unit increase was associated with a 76% higher risk of developing dementia.

For participants under 65, an increase in the pulse pressure-heart rate index was associated with a 76% higher risk of developing dementia. (iStock)

The second study found that adults with consistently elevated or rapidly increasing pulse wave velocity were more likely to develop dementia than those with stable velocity, even after accounting for factors like smoking, gender and cardiovascular history.

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“Our findings suggest that vascular aging patterns may provide meaningful insight into future dementia risk,” said Nyirenda. “This reinforces the idea that managing vascular health earlier in life may influence long-term brain health.”

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The team emphasized that clinicians should tailor risk assessments and treatment strategies to the individual.

Further studies are needed to confirm these parameters and determine whether changing vascular aging trajectories reduces dementia risk. (iStock)

“You don’t want to wait until a patient starts manifesting cognitive decline before you act,” said senior study author Sula Mazimba, an associate professor at the University of Virginia.

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Researchers noted the study could not establish causation. Other limitations included the fact that participants already had hypertension and elevated cardiovascular risk, meaning the findings may not apply to people without those conditions.

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Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine whether improving blood vessel health over time could reduce dementia risk.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.

Health

Everything You Need To Know About Zepbound for Weight Loss, Including Costs

Published

14 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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Everything You Need To Know About Zepbound for Weight Loss, Including Costs

What Is Zepbound? Weight-Loss Benefits, Costs and Dosage

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Health

‘Gas station heroin’ banned in another state amid nationwide crackdowns

Published

15 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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‘Gas station heroin’ banned in another state amid nationwide crackdowns

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A dangerous substance dubbed “gas station heroin” continues to alarm medical professionals, with more states making moves to restrict or ban tianeptine.

Fourteen states have officially classified the tricyclic antidepressant as a Schedule I controlled substance.

Connecticut is the latest state to crack down, officially banning the sale and use of the substance starting on Wednesday.

HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE AVAILABLE IN STORES ACROSS THE NATION

Tianeptine, which can produce euphoria in higher doses, can be more potent than morphine and addictive opioids, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Some countries have taken steps to restrict how tianeptine is prescribed or dispensed, and have even revised the labels to warn people of its potential addictive qualities.

Tianeptine can be more potent than morphine and addictive opioids. (iStock)

Misuse of tianeptine can cause severe adverse health effects, including respiratory depression, severe sedation and death, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Some companies market the drug as an aid for pain, anxiety and depression, or as a means of improving mental alertness in a pill, powder, salt or liquid form.

The products are typically sold at convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops and online retailers, and go by names like Tianaa, ZaZa, Neptune’s Fix, Pegasus and TD Red.

Connecticut is the 15th state to classify tianeptine as a Schedule I controlled substance. (Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said in a press release that the schedule change is a necessary step to combat addiction.

“With false marketing that led consumers to believe these are safe products, and with candy-like flavor options, these substances posed a clear threat to those battling substance-use disorder and our youngest residents,” she added.

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The Nutmeg State also added Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), 7-hydroxymitragynine, Bromazolam, Flubromazolam, Nitazenes and Phenibut to the schedule classification.

Earlier this month, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary penned a letter sounding the alarm on what he called a “dangerous and growing health trend.”

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“I am very concerned,” Makary wrote. “I want the public to be especially aware of this dangerous product and the serious and continuing risk it poses to America’s youth.”

New York-based Robert Schwaner, M.D., vice chair of system clinical affairs at Stony Brook Emergency Medicine, told Fox News Digital that the FDA has never approved tianeptine as a dietary supplement.

“As with heroin and other opioids, significant mu-opioid receptor stimulation ultimately results in a loss of respiratory drive and subsequent cardiac arrest.” (Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office)

“The euphoria at low doses is primarily due to increased serotonergic activity from its serotonin reuptake effects. With increasing doses, the mu-opioid receptor stimulation may become lethal,” said Schwaner. “As with heroin and other opioids, significant mu-opioid receptor stimulation ultimately results in a loss of respiratory drive and subsequent cardiac arrest.”

Schwaner said he believes the substance requires national regulation due to its addictive qualities.

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“Acting at the same receptor as opioids, tianeptine has the potential for an individual to develop tolerance, subsequent dependence and withdrawal from its use,” he cautioned.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.

Ashley J. DiMella is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.