The Federal government on Thursday unveiled a National Policy that will ensure Nigerians have equitable access to quality eye care and help the country curb what it described as rising cases of blindness and several other eye diseases.
Minister of State for Health, Adeleke Mamora who launched the policy in Abuja, informed that 84 percent of eye diseases particularly those that cause blindness are preventable and treatable, but decried the lack of awareness and inaccessibility of eye care services across the country causing many Nigerians to remain visually impaired.
“The National Eye Health policy is Nigeria’s first comprehensive National Eye Health Policy. It scales up existing eye health services and ensures that no one is left behind through approaches that ensures equitable access to quality eye care services which can strengthen Nigeria’s health system towards the achievement of universal eye health as a part of universal health coverage.
“Enshrining this document as part of our governance structure ensures that the majority of Nigerians have the potential to reduce the burden of blindness which would ultimately lead to an increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and further enhance the economic growth of this great nation,” the Minister said.
“The document further puts in place a framework for best practices and enhances competency-based leadership in all strata of eye health encompassing optical, optometric, medical and surgical ophthalmology as well as allied health services.
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“Eighty-four percent of these blinding diseases are avoidable with possible causes like cataracts, glaucoma, refractive errors, uncorrected aphakia, harmful traditional eye practices, corneal opacities and NTDs like trachoma and onchocerciasis,” he added.
Mamora stressed that vision is important in the socio-economic development of a people, explaining that vision loss alone costs the globe a whopping $411 billion annually.
In his remarks, Mahmuda Mamman, permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, further explained that the policy is patient-centred and inclusive and has been adopted by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He disclosed that the prevalence of blindness in Nigeria is 0.78 percent with cataracts, glaucoma, refractive errors, harmful traditional eye practices and corneal opacities as the leading causes of preventable blindness.
“These preventable blinding conditions can be reduced significantly through public awareness and ease of accessibility to eye care professionals thus encouraging early treatment of the diseases”, he said.
The minister also inaugurated the National Eye Health Committee to develop policies that will help to enshrine eye health services in the country that ensures that no Nigerian is needlessly blind.
