Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, says the state government will continue to advance responsive healthcare delivery policies that will help curb glaucoma and reduce the incidence of blindness in the state.
The governor said this in commemoration of the 2019 World Glaucoma Week held annually between March 10 and 16, and championed by the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association.
According to Obaseki, “As the World marks the Glaucoma Week, I want to assure our people in Edo State that we are working round the clock to ensure that necessary policies to promote efficient healthcare delivery are put in place, including those that would help fight glaucoma.
“Even with a focus on primary healthcare, we are also very keen on ensuring that ailments like glaucoma get the needed attention. We are strengthening the healthcare system in the state to promote awareness creation and efficient management of the ailment and are ready to work with health missions.”
This is made possible with the siting of healthcare centres closer to the people in rural areas, as much work has been done with the Edo Healthcare Improvement Programme (Edo-HIP) to ensure that efficient healthcare is provided for the people, he said.
Noting that the state government will continue to prioritise the wellbeing of the people, the governor said that glaucoma, which is the second leading cause of blindness after cataract, would be mitigated with responsive policies.
“This is why we need the support of other stakeholders, such as the traditional institutions, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to key into our health programmes so that we can, together, help in managing glaucoma and other related ailments in the state,” he said.
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