Newly independent South Sudan has some of the highest blindness rates in the world. Endemic diseases that have been stamped out in other post-conflict countries are rife, and the only fully functioning eye centre is in the capital, Juba. 'There is only one ophthalmologist in South Sudan and that's me,' says Wani Mena, who is also the Ministry of Health's representative for eye care and head of the country's main hospital. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends one ophthalmologist for every 400,000 people, while South Sudan has one for more than nine million people.