By Justina Auta
SightSavers Nigeria, an international NGO, has expressed concern over neglect of eye healthcare for children and the elderly in rural communities.
Its Country Director, Joy Shu’aibu, expressed the group’s concern in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, in commemoration of the 2024 World Sight Day.
The global observance is annually marked on the second Thursday of October to draw attention to blindness and vision impairment.
Originally initiated by the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000, the 2024 edition has “Love Your Eyes Kids” as its theme.
Shu’aibu, therefore, stated that “two thirds of children and adults who require glasses to help them see clearly, do not have access to the glasses.
“The same can be said of other eye conditions like cataract, where a significant proportion of people especially living in rural communities are unable to get the treatment they need.”
She added that an estimated 24 million people in Nigeria had vision loss, out of which, 1.3 million are blind or have moderate to severe vision impairment from cataract or refractive error.
She cited the case of four year old girl, Rabiatu from Zamfara, who recently underwent a successful cataract surgery through the organisation’s eye health care intervention to prevent blindness and enable her to see better.
She added that “many eye health interventions can be relatively small or straightforward, yet the impact can be life changing.”
She explained that the organisation would screen 700 pupils’ eyes, sensitise teachers and provide glasses in Jos and Shendam under its Plateau Inclusive Eye Health Programme as part of the world sight day celebration.
She recalled that the NGO had made great progress to meet eye challenges, with governments, donors, decision-makers, NGOs, and other partners collaborating to improve access to quality and affordable services for everyone.
She stated that “big changes are still needed to make avoidable vision impairment truly avoidable.”
The country director, therefore, called for improved access to eye health services for everyone, from children to the elderly, as well as changes to address the global inequity in eye health.
She said “vision problems are common. Everyone, at some point, needs support to maintain good eye health.
