Since its creation in 1988 by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, some 977,937 patients have been treated at the Ramón Pando Ferrer Ophthalmology Institute’s Ocular Microsurgery Center (CMO) in Havana.
 
During the inauguration of the Ninth National Cataracts Workshop, Dr. Eneyda de la Caridad Pérez Candelaria MSc, who has been leading the CMO since 2007, reported that 275,773 surgeries have been performed over almost three decades, 195,000 of which correspond to cataracts procedures.
 
During this period the Center, which benefits from the latest technology and is a pioneer in the use of new surgical techniques, has achieved international recognition, stated the specialist.
 
An example of which was the creation of Misión Milagro (Operation Miracle) in July 2004, an initiative of Fidel which seeks to restore or improve vision for people throughout the region.
 
To date, over three million patients from more than 30 countries have benefited from the ophthalmological program, with some 662,000 treated for cataracts; above all in Central, South America, and the Caribbean, stated Reynaldo Ríos Caso, deputy director of the Institute speaking with the Agencia Cubana de Noticias.