'Wow!' The eye surgery marathon that restored sight for some South Africans

TSAKANE, South Africa (AP) — Gladys Khoza had missed being able to see her family. Not because they couldn't visit, but because the 84-year-old had vision problems.

Now that has changed. Khoza is one of 133 people whose sight was restored during a “marathon” of free cataract surgeries conducted by doctors in South Africa at two hospitals over two weekends last month.

“Wow!” a delighted Khoza whispered as a nurse peeled back a bandage a day after her operation, and the world came back into view.

“Can you see me?” the nurse asked. “Very well,” Khoza replied, a big grin on her face.

Patients in South Africa's public health service can be on waiting lists for years for the simple 15-20-minute cataract operation. Officials said some of those who were selected from hospital waiting lists for the surgeries had been waiting since 2019 to see properly again.

Cataracts are a common, often age-related condition in which the eye's lens becomes clouded, and they are the leading cause of curable blindness. The surgeries insert a new artificial lens.

For Khoza, who said she couldn't see anything out of one eye because of a cataract and had long had issues with the other, the simple surgery equates to a major boost for her quality of life.

“I just wanted to be able to see,” she said. Now, after nearly a year of waiting, some of her favorite things — seeing loved ones, reading her Bible and watching late-night soap operas — are all possible again.

Dr. Tebogo Fakude, one of the doctors who volunteered to perform the operations at two regional hospitals near Johannesburg, said his mother was blind and that having sight restored is “beautiful.”

"It's beautiful because it alleviates depression,” Fakude said adding that the sense of being a burden was also eased.

Globally, more than 2 billion people suffer from some kind of vision impairment, according to the World Health Organization. For half of them, the problem could have been prevented, or they are still waiting for treatment.

Nearly 100 million people are affected by cataracts, and half of them still need access to surgery, according to the WHO. In Africa, that figure rises to 75% of people without surgery, according to a study published in March by the Lancet medical journal.

Surgery backlogs are a significant problem in South Africa, where government-run hospitals serve more than three-quarters of the population of 62 million people. Limited resources mean emergency procedures and more serious operations are prioritized over elective surgery.

The Health Department-led surgical marathons were first staged on Mandela Day in 2023 to commemorate the legacy of the country’s first Black president, Nelson Mandela. They have developed into a public-private partnership that takes place several times a year to increase access to care.

The ministry has vowed to use surgical marathons as a means of eliminating backlogs. Previous ones have addressed prostate, cleft palate and stomach issues.

Cataracts became the latest focus. Around 300,000 new cases are diagnosed every year in South Africa, Fakude said.

Health groups say South Africa faces a backlog of over 240,000 people waiting for cataract operations. Over 35,000 people in the most populous province of Gauteng — where the surgery marathon was performed — have cataract-related blindness.

WHO says eye cataract operations are “one of the most cost-effective medical procedures,” and a powerful tool to restore someone's independence, dignity and opportunities.

During the three-day surgery marathon at Pholosong Regional Hospital, a new patient was brought into the operating theater about every 30 minutes. Soothing gospel music played on speakers to keep up doctors' morale.

Looking through a microscope, the eye specialists made tiny incisions for each operation, removed the cloudy lens and replaced it with an artificial one. At one point, two surgeons worked concurrently on separate patients to quicken the pace. They completed 60 surgeries on the last weekend of the marathon.

Molefe Mokoena, 72, said he was looking forward to regaining his independence after suffering from a cataract for four years.

"I want to see my great-grandchildren,” he said. “I want to drive my car, and I'm happy about this.”

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Gladys Khoza undergoes a post-operative eye test after cataract surgery, in Tsakane, South Africa, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

A monitor displays a live cataract surgery during a surgical marathon, in Tsakane, South Africa, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

Ophthalmologists operate on two patients during a marathon cataract event, in Tsakane, South Africa, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

Gladys Khoza adjusts an eye testing device during an eye surgery marathon, in Tsakane, South Africa, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

An ophthalmologist performs cataract surgery while an assistant hands him surgical instruments during a marathon event, in Tsakane, South Africa, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The artist formerly and possibly again known as Kanye West reveled in support from one of his musical idols, Lauryn Hill, as he staged a sold-out Southern California concert meant to mark a comeback from years of controversy.

Eleven months after releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler” and just over two months after publishing an apology letter for his antisemitism, Ye let two decades of hits — and 70,000 screaming loyal fans — speak the loudest on Friday night at SoFi Stadium.

"I want to thank y’all for sticking by me all these years. Through the hard times, through the low times," he told the crowd. “I love you for that.”

Hill joined Ye on a stage for the first time ever for an energetic rendition of his 2004 hit “All Falls Down,” which originally sampled her voice. Ye left the stage as she performed “Lost Ones” and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” before rejoining for his 2021 “Doo Wop”-sampling song “Believe What I Say.” They hugged as she exited.

Travis Scott, CeeLo Green and Ye's tween daughter North West also strapped on safety harnesses to join Ye high above the stadium floor atop a striking half-orb stage, which alternately depicted a moon, a rotating Earth and a smoking sphere throughout the two hours-plus livestreamed performance.

A loud singalong of “Heartless” midway through the more than 40-song Good Friday show seemed to boost Ye’s spirits: “That’s what 80,000 people sound like, ladies and gentlemen. … They said I’d never be back in the States. Two sold-out concerts, baby!”

The first SoFi show Wednesday, his first major U.S. performance in nearly five years, turned out to be more of a warm-up as Ye was tentative in his rapping and drew attention to technical mishaps.

Fans at that show said they separated the 48-year-old performer’s personal beliefs and public statements from his music — and were ready to forgive after his January apology letter.

“You gotta back your family no matter what,” said Vince Da Prince, a rapper from Downey, Calif. “He’s a part of our fam since we were little kids.”

Added fan Yovani Contreras: “I don’t really bring into politics or the way someone’s personal opinion are. I’m into the music artistry … Like, I just, to me, Ye is always gonna be Ye. Kanye is always gonna be Kanye.”

Luis Velasquez said he’d been a longtime fan and had been put off by controversies in recent years, but felt the apology was sincere.

“Yeah he did apologize,” he said. “He’s taking the medication I think is what he mentioned. … For me as a fan that’s, like, respect, right? Like I think that’s cool enough to bridge that gap.”

Ye released his latest album, “Bully,” under both the names Ye and Kanye West, at the end of March. He dominated hip-hop and pop charts in the 2000s and early 2010s, winning 24 Grammy Awards despite public outbursts and a polarizing personality. He lost nearly all his major business partnerships and many fans after a string of controversies in the last several years including antisemitic remarks and social media posts.

He closed Friday night's show with his “toast to the douchebags" hit “Runaway,” and walked out of the stadium behind his wife Bianca Censori and two of his children.

FILE - Kanye West, known as Ye, watches the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers, on March 11, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)