More than 250 Panamanian citizens with eye conditions were pre-screened for ophthalmic surgeries in David, a district of Panama’s Chiriquí province, August 5-14, as part of exercise PANAMAX ALPHA 2024.
Military doctors, part of an ophthalmology Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE), which they refer to as EYEDRETE, a U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) led joint exercise carried by Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo), performed surgeries at the Rafael Hernández Hospital of Panama’s Social Security Fund (CSS). The medical personnel consisted of 15 surgeons and 15 auxiliaries, including nurses and paramedics.
“These EYEDRETEs are coordinated with the local authorities of the host country, including the Ministry of Health and the U.S. Embassy in the country,” Dr. Miguel Coello, JTF-Bravo medical coordinator, told Diálogo on September 3. “In addition, other government entities collaborate, such as customs and different entities, which grant permits so that the brigade’s ophthalmologists, with their approved credentials, can practice temporarily and free of charge.”
Dr. Coello has coordinated many medical brigades in Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama throughout the years. In 2007, following the large 8.0 earthquake in Peru, he organized an EYEDRETE with a JTF-Bravo contingent to provide immediate support to the people in the most damaged areas.
The U.S. Embassy reported that in 2024, eye surgeries in Panama numbered 257. Even though only 150 procedures were scheduled, coverage was expanded because the waiting list was 300 people. In 2023 there were 263 patients, but 288 surgeries were performed, because some beneficiaries underwent more than one procedure.
New Life
Ildaura Bonilla, a 60-year-old resident of the province of Chiriquí, began to lose her eyesight during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although she already had some impairment, her vision declined drastically at that time. Her condition led her to make life-altering resolutions that affected her family’s finances.
“I had to quit my job. It was not possible for me to continue, because on the way to work I would fall due to lack of vision. My family was very worried that something more serious would happen to me on the street and I lost my independence completely,” Bonilla told Diálogo. “The doctor diagnosed me with severe cataracts in both eyes as a result of diabetes.”
During the July 2023 EYEDRETE, Bonilla underwent her first surgery on her right eye. A year later, on August 7, 2024, after completing some paperwork at the Panamanian Ministry of Health, she was sent to the JTF-Bravo brigade deployed in David, where she underwent her second surgery, this time on the left eye. “The day after the operation, when they removed the patch, I saw everything clearly. It was a great joy to see the light again,” Bonilla said.
When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find Dr. Coello and the military medical personnel who performed both surgeries in front of her again. She now enjoys full recovery of her vision.
“I can now see, help with many things, and read, see and do things that I could no longer do before. For me that has given me my life back. Now I can move forward, be independent. At the EYEDRETE I saw the human way they treat people. If they come back, they will certainly find support in me,” she said.
Partner country
U.S. Ambassador to Panama Mari Carmen Aponte, traveled to David on August 8, for the official donation of a humanitarian storage center valued at $1 million, which will increase the capacity to respond to emergency situations in the provinces of Chiriquí, Bocas del Toro, and Veraguas, as well as in the Ngäbe Buglé indigenous region.
“When I visited Chiriquí last year [2023] we were asked to bring humanitarian programs. Today we fulfill that commitment as a partner country,” Ambassador Aponte said. “This humanitarian center that we delivered to the National Civil Protection System, will allow us to quickly assist the population in case of emergencies and natural disasters. It is beautiful to see how these humanitarian programs between our two countries bring well-being to thousands of families.”
During her visit, Ambassador Aponte toured the Rafael Hernández Hospital, to observe the work of JTF-Bravo.
“Since 2013, at least one medical mission for cataract surgeries has been conducted every year between SOUTHCOM medical personnel and Panamanian health authorities, who to date restored vision to more than 2,000 Panamanians,” the U.S. Embassy in Panama indicated. “Previously, these surgeries had been performed in the provinces of Panama and Veraguas. This is the first medical mission for surgeries in which personnel from the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund participate jointly with U.S. doctors.”
Bright future
Dr. Coello said that for the EYEDRETE mission to achieve the desired goal of benefiting citizens such as Bonilla, they must plan a year in advance. Therefore, “since the end of August 2024 we have started preparations for 2025, because the funds to carry out the JTF-Bravo EYEDRETEs come from the U.S. Department of Defense through SOUTHCOM and when a project is approved, it gives access to the necessary funds to purchase the tools that will be used in each brigade,” he said.
Ambassador Aponte concluded by underlining “the commitment of the United States, to continue strengthening the relationship between both countries through humanitarian assistance efforts, which benefit the entire population.”
