President of the Nigerian Optometric Association, Dr Ozy Okonokhua, has appealed to the Federal Government to give priority attention to the high prevalence rate of eye health care problems in the country.
He said that the current National Blindness and Low Vision Survey showed that the highest prevalence of blindness occurred in the northern part of the country.
He expressed concerns that most IDP camps had no clinic to address health issues, saying that the camps' challenges were under reported.
Crowd Funding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money.
According to him, the government should focus on tackling health challenges in the camps because if there is any outbreak of any epidemic, the condition will be catastrophic.“If there is any outbreak of Lassa fever in the camps, it will be a catastrophe because of the nature of the camps, no access to water which is the fastest means of tackling health care challenges,’’ he said.
Dr Adaku Obia, convener of the project, said the
She also advised other corps members to serve their fatherland with passion, dignity and strength.
She urged other corps members to endeavor to impact positively in any community they are deployed to so that they can also be remembered.
According to her through the project, she has provided general health care services for the people in the camp and advise them on healthy living.
She called on the government to establish standard eye clinics in the camps with materials and personnel to take care of their health challenges.
Dr. Felix Olafisoye, Managing Director, Supreme Vision said that the project started in September 2019 with a focus on IDP camps in the Federal Capital Territory.
Mr. Luka Yathuma, Secretary of the camp told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the clinic built by the German Embassy in 2015 had only one retired nurse who comes once in a while.
He said that most pregnant women face the problem of access to medical care and cannot attend antenatal for lack of finance.“If we have enough medical personnel in the clinic, most diseases in the camp will be addressed and our women will be taken care of during delivery,’’ Yathuma said.
Some beneficiaries of the eye glasses thanked the convener for the good job and called on the government to address the security issues in the country so that they can return to their homes.
According to the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey in Nigeria conducted in 2005-2007, It was estimated that 1.13 million individuals aged 40 years were currently blind in Nigeria.
A further 2.7 million adults aged 40 years were estimated to have a moderate visual impairment and an additional 400,000 adults were severely visually impaired.
4.25 million adults aged 40 years in Nigeria were visually impaired or blind.
(NAN)
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