The Kwara Government says it will focus more on the provision of eye healthcare by establishing a Department of Eye-Health.
The state Commissioner, Dr Raji Razaq, announced this on Tuesday in Ilorin.
Razaq disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the World Glaucoma Week, organised by the Opthamologist Society of Nigeria, Kwara Chapter.
He explained that siting the department in the ministry would ensure that the government focus more on eye health.
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According to him, this will also enable the people in the state to have better eye health and will strengthen the system.
He said the World Glaucoma Week is a unique initiative to help those with an interest in improved eye health to understand the devastating effects of a condition that could affect many people.
“We encourage our people to always go for eye check-up and screening on time. The state government is trying its best so that the health system is strengthened,” he said.
Prof. Olatunji Festus, Consultant Ophtalomologist and Head of Glaucoma Unit, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), explained that the week was a global programme to create awareness on the dangers of glaucoma.
According to him, glaucoma is a dangerous eye disease which is also described as eye-thief, adding that though glaucoma can cause irreversible blindness, it can however be prevented with early detection.
“It takes vision away from the eye without even knowing, until it is advanced and becomes irreversible.
“We are creating awareness so that people will come out and examine their eyes. Some of the people that present themselves to the hospital are usually in an advanced stage of the disease,” he observed.
He added that the ophthalmology society have commenced free screening for people to benefit from.
Dr Tokunbo Obajolowo, an Ophthalmologist at UITH, also appealed to people come out for the free eye screening exercise.
The expert described glaucoma as “one of the common causes of blindness in Nigeria that silently takes away the vision”, adding that people who are 40 years above should ensure regular eye screening at least twice a year.
According to her, World Glaucoma Week is a unique initiative to help those with an interest in improved eye health to understand the devastating effects of a condition that could affect many people.
She said with routine eye examination at least twice a year, people can avert glaucoma and prevent irreversible blindness.
Sidelines of the week long events includes an awareness walk across Ilorin metropolis and free eye screening exercise at the State General Hospital and UITH.
NAN also reports that Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve, which is the part of our eye that carries the images we see to our brain.
According to WHO, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment in at least 1 billion or almost half of these cases, vision impairment are preventable and Glaucoma makes up 7.7 million of these cases. (NAN)
