The number of people suffering from glaucoma and other eye diseases leading to total blindness in Nigeria is currently taking an alarming dimension and could worsen if nothing is urgently done to salvage the situation.
This, indeed, was a source of concern for a group of ophthalmologists at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) in Osun state recently as they partnered Pfizer to sensitise the public on glaucoma disease and to provide eye care treatment to the affected people in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Instructively, research has shown that the population of blind people in Nigeria is startling as it is put at well over one million, with about three million others visually impaired. Available statistics from the Federal Ministry of Health shows that 42 out of every 100 adults above the age of 40 are visually impaired in the country.
As a matter of fact, these surveys indicate an urgent need to increase access to eye care as well as the importance of reaching out to people who are illiterate and lack basic information on how to prevent eye diseases. It is against this backdrop that this Newspaper appreciates and shares the concerns of the OAUTH ophthalmologists on this worrisome development. The truth is that more than 80 percent of the blindness recorded in the country as a result of the impact of these eye diseases, could have been prevented if adequate and necessary measures were taken to prevent the condition.
It is even gratifying that the federal ministry of health and other government health agencies are already aware of the magnitude of the problem. It is only sad that most of the blindness and visual impairment in the country are quite preventable. Therefore, the ministries of health at the federal, State and even local governments levels must hit the ground running to revert this ugly trend. To do this, it is imperative that they are resolute to embark on an aggressive sensitization programmes to enlighten the public on the causes, treatment and preventive measures of these eye diseases. There is no doubt that too many persons are unaware that they are living with the disease, therefore, are neither receiving any treatment nor seeing a doctor. This will, definitely resonate on a proper eye care education and enlightenment on the people, especially those who are already sufferers.
Ultimately, people must also, on their own, develop the habit of regular eye checkups to ensure good eye health especially the aged who are more susceptible to eye diseases. With all hands on deck, and with the right and relevant medical programmes, as well as people’s preparedness to adhere to professional eye health directives, the increasing cases of glaucoma and cataract that cause blindness will be curbed, if not completely nipped in the bud.
