Dr Gladys Atto (MBchB (KIU), Mmed (MUST), Msc. public health for eye care (LSHTM), Certificate in leadership and Management in global health (University of Washington)) is a Ugandan ophthalmologist.

She has had sub-specialty training in public health for eye care from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

And she holds a certificate in leadership and management in global health from the University of Washington.

Dr. Atto, a millennial, already has a profound legacy of being the first ever ophthalmologist in Karamoja – one of the hardest to reach areas in Uganda.

She not only functionalized the eye unit at the Government of Uganda’s Moroto Regional Referral Hospital. she has turned it into a centre of excellence for the provision of eye care services in Karamoja in North-Eastern Uganda.

For the past three years, Dr. Atto has carried out over five thousand sight restoring cataract surgeries mainly through community outreaches in Karamoja. No wonder, she:

• Is the 2021 recipient of “The Women in Medicine Award” from the Uganda Medical Association in recognition of her efforts in strengthening Uganda’s health system.
• In 2022, was nominated for “Doctor of the year” and “Global Health Champion, North (Uganda)” categories of Heroes in Health Awards by Ministry of health, Uganda.
• In 2023, was listed among the top twenty-two rising stars in surgery by the Association of Surgeons of Uganda.

Dr. Atto has generously agreed to lend her expert knowledge to us at CPAR Uganda.

She has inspired us into action to do something about enabling poor and disadvantaged communities to have access to eye care services.

She inspired our “Project Restore Eyesight, Dignity and Worth of Persons in Poor Rural Communities of Uganda.” Read more about the project here.

“According to the Ugandan Ministry of Health, 57 percent of blindness cases in the country are due to cataracts, a condition that can be treated (Raziah Antham in Africanews).”

Eye care doctors and their teams need material, such as:

• Surgical cloves, masks and sanitizer
• Medicines such as eye drops
• Cataract kits for the patients
• Equipment
• Other resources, such as fuel, vehicles, generators, etc. for conducting outreaches and surgical camps.

Help us to equip them with the materials, medicine and other resources they need.

Equipping eye doctors and their teams, will facilitate them to go to the people, through community outreaches, medical camps and home visits, in order to provide eye care services.

And as well to bring back to hospital the seriously afflicted in need of specialized care.