Sightsavers, an NGO, has screened 4.6 million persons for various eye conditions and conducted 14,000 cataract surgeries in the last 13 years, Dr Joshua Ibenu, its Eye Health Officer, has disclosed.

Speaking at the ongoing two-day meeting with media partners on Friday in Keffi, Ibenu said that the organisation’s eye care strategy is targeted at tackling the eye health crisis in Nigeria through equitable access to quality, inclusive and sustainable eye care services.

He disclosed that sightsavers had trained over 27,000 teachers and health workers on basic eye care in the period under review.

He said that more than 4.25 million Nigerians, from age 40 and above, are blind or visually impaired, while 1.13 million adults are blind,” he decried.

Ibenu, however, said that 84 per cent of blindness in Nigeria could be prevented through surgery, particularly cataract, which accounts for 43 per cent of blindness in the country.

He lamented that only 4.4 per cent of Nigerians currently access quality eye health services, adding that poor vision costs Nigeria billions annually through productivity and income losses.

“Because 84 per cent of blindness in Nigeria is avoidable, investments in cataract surgery, spectacles and eye health programmes in schools can generate significant social and economic returns,” he said.

Ibenu, who said that the NGO’s eye health programmes were currently active in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said that more than 60,000 Nigerians benefited from its refractive error correction services.

He also explained that globally, Sightsavers had, over the years, performed 9.7 million cataract surgeries and more than 235 million eye examinations.

He added that in Nigeria, the organisation supported the development of the National Eye Health Policy, National Eye Health Strategy, Nigerian Glaucoma Guideline and toolkits, among others.

Speaking on Sightsavers’ Disability Inclusion Programme, its Senior Finance Officer, Mr Fabian Tukman, said that the organisation aimed at creating equal opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the society.

Tukman particularly said that the programme aimed at creating job opportunities, economic empowerment through skills acquisition and mentorship for PWDs.

He disclosed that the organisation had also supported PWDs with revolving funds to empower them through trade and other petty businesses.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the meeting tagged “Strengthening Media Partnerships for Inclusive and Impactful Storytelling”, had journalists from Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Kwara and the FCT in attendance.(NAN)

Edited by Polycarp Auta