From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) has advocated inclusion of eye care in Primary Health Care (PHC) services to enable easy access especially for children and other teenagers who are increasingly coming down with visual impairment.
The Association said records available to it indicated that one out of every three children in Nigeria has an uncorrected visual impairment which has affected their school work, learning, recreation, self-esteem and also encourage truancy, delinquency and dropouts.
NOA President, Dr. Obinna Awiaka, said in a statement, on Thursday, that the Association was using the occasion of the 2022 World Sight Day with the theme “Love Your Eyes” to raise awareness and solicit support from all stakeholders on issues of sight.
“In Nigeria, the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey has shown that uncorrected refractive errors is a major cause of visual impairment, with about 77.9 per cent of mild visual impairment being caused by it”, he said.
He, thus encouraged all stakeholders to show commitment towards eradicating avoidable visual impairment and blindness and the psycho-socio and economic implications associated with it.
He added: “This year’s world sight day was very unique because it was the first time all eye care professionals committed to working together as a team through the platform of the National Eye Health Committee.
“Undoubtedly, the economic, psychological and social burden of visual impairment continues to re-echo and staring humanity in the face. This is due to the fact that visual impairment and blindness cause a considerable and increasing economic burden, which affect not only persons with vision loss and their families, but also societies at large with its attendant cost.”
He, therefore, called on the government to take the front lead and support the eye care sector in terms of increased funding and engagement of optometrists to offer the services for which they have been trained.
“This will go a long way in enshrining quality outcomes in the health sector. We are also appealing to the government to ensure that eye care is effectively covered at all PHCs across the country giving access to those in need of eye care services in the remote areas,” he suggested.