The North East Development Commission (NEDC) in collaboration with an International NGO known as Kolmarg Eyesight Foundation, has embarked on a comprehensive free eyecare services to rural communities in Taraba State.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony of the programme in Jalingo, the State Capital, Muhammed Alkali, the Managing Director of NEDC, said the programme, which is in line with the mandate of the Commission, was aimed at providing succour to visually-impaired persons in the underserved communities within Taraba State, especially “at this critical time when people are passing through lots of challenges.”
Represented by the Taraba State coordinator of the commission, Bashir Hamanjoda, the MD reiterated the commitment of NEDC to providing free eyecare services to bridge the gap in vision health across the six States of the zone.
He noted that various statistics had shown that an estimated population of 1.3 million persons were blind as at 2020 and the greatest proportion of those people were actually from the Northern part of the Country which includes Taraba State.
Hence, the programme was built up to provide equitable and accessible free eyecare for the underserved communities of the region
Alkali noted that the programme, which was run simultaneously across the six States of the zone, was aimed at conducting cataract surgeries, minor surgeries, and trichiasis caused by glaucoma, even as free eyes glasses would also be distributed free to deserving patients across three zones of each of the States.
He encouraged the beneficiaries to adhere strictly to the various prescriptions given them by the experts, reiterating that the Commission would continue with its mandate of empowering communities and transforming lives to create a world where clear vision would become fundamental rights for all manner of persons irrespective of their economic or social status.
Also speaking, Olukorede Adenuga, Professor and Coordinator of the programme in Taraba State, stated that two Local Government Areas, were earmarked in each of the three zones of the State for the exercise
“In the Northern part of the state, we shall be in Jalingo and Yorro Local Government Areas. In Central part we will camp in Sardauna and Gassol LGAs while in the Southern part of the state, we will be in Wukari and Ibi LGAs respectively
“Aside screening of thousands of people, We shall be conducting 600 cataract surgeries, 20 minor surgeries and trichiasis caused by glaucoma in each of our camps. We have prepared for 600 glasses to be dispensed free of charge to patients in each of the LGAs, even as we shall be treating diabetic eye diseases and a lot of other common eye challenges in these rural areas”, he added.
The optometrist who identified glaucoma as the leading cause of blindness, urged citizens of the State to come up en mass for check up, explaining that glaucoma can not be treated but if detected early, the person’s sight could be preserved and the vision restored.
Earlier in their separate goodwill messages at the occasion, Aisha Shehu Adamu, Medical Director, Federal Medical Center Jalingo, who was represented by the Head of Clinical Services, Joseph Kuni and the Emir of Muri Abbas Njida, represented by his Secretary, Alhaji Usman Gassol, they all appreciated the NEDC and Kolmarg Foundation for taking up the bold step to reach out to people at grassroots at a such critical time with such remarkable succour.
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