The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Eye screening

  • Free eye screening for 3,000 visually-impaired

    A non-government organisation (NGO), Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation (ACT), under the aegis of Clear Vision Project, in partnership with Vision Spring and Catholic Optical Outreach, has screened 3,000 visually-impaired persons.

    It distributed 581 eye glasses to indigent children and women in Ifesowapo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Imodi Imosan, Ogun State.

    The Chief Executive Officer, ACT, Ms Osaie Allele, said the programme was organised because of the importance of our eyes, adding that his organisation is passionate about helping visually-impaired women and children.

    She said: “The idea behind Vision 2020 is to avoid blindness. That informed our decision to come to Ifesowapo LCDA to offer free optical support to women and children.

    “A few months ago, we were in Lagos on World Sight Day on the same mission. The screening continues because our mission is to distribute 3,500 glasses to Ogun State people. So far, we have given out 581 glasses.”

    Allele urged people to take advantage of the programme to know their eye status.

    Executive Director, Catholic Opticals Outreach Rev. Christopher Ogunnupebi, said their mission was to reduce blindness among women and children.

    He said after Ifesowapo LCDA, they would head for Odogbolu Local Government, targeting women and children in rural areas, who might not be able to afford glasses.

    A representative of Vision Spring, Mrs. Tinuke Adeyinka, said everyone should know the importance of good sight, describing eyes as the gateway to the body.

    She said: “Vision Spring is an American social enterprise with a mission to ensure that everybody who needs pair of glasses has access to one. We also create awareness of avoidable blindness.”

    The Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Hospital Management Board, Dr. Ayinde Akobi and the Chairman, Ifesowapo LCDA, Obafemi Onakoya, noted that it will complement the ‘Efficient Health Care Delivery’ policy of the Governor Ibikunle Amosun administration.

     

  • Diabetes, eye screening in Lagos

    Ambibol Diabetes Foundation will hold a four-day sensitisation programme to mark 2016 World Diabetes Day in Lagos.

    The event, according to the foundation’s Corporate Affairs Executive Kayode Adegbile, begins on Friday.

    Adegbile said over 1000 people will be screened for diabetes and 500 others for retinopathy, a common diabetic complication that can lead to blindness.

    The event will feature visit to religious centres, walkathon, lecture and awareness campaigns by experts.

    November 14 is celebrated yearly as World Diabetes Day, by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to raise more awareness about rising cases of diabetes worldwide.

    Nigeria is rated by IDF as having the highest number of people living with diabetes in Africa, with over five million affected and new cases of 1.56 million detected in 2015.

  • Expert seeks free eye screening for pupils

    The founder of Mission to Save Sight Africa Foundation (MTSSAF), Dr. Oluwafunke Ani has called for the provision of free eye screening services for pupils in public schools in Nigeria.

    Ani made the at the Gala Evening and Dinner in the Dark organised by Mission to Save Sight Africa Foundation held recently at Planet One Lagos.

    The programme brought together medical practitioners, the visually-impaired persons, film producers, talks, awards, eating in the dark and launch of a communication behavioural change film called “Avoidable Blunders.”

    According to her, there is an estimated 1.4 bilion blind children worldwide, one million of which live in Asia and 300, 000 in Africa. This number will reduce considerably if there is early detection and management of visual impairment.

    She said children aged between 0 and 16 years constitute 45 per cent of the total population of 160 million and if truly they are the future hope of Nigeria, their health status should be of utmost importance to all.

    She also noted that 325 million people are visually impaired, and 39.8 million people are blind worldwide, a child goes blind every minute in our world, 80 per cent of blind cases is avoidable and 90 per cent of all visually-impaired worldwide live in developing countries, one of which is Nigeria.

    She stated that vision screening is an efficient and cost-effective method of identifying children with visual impairment or eye conditions that can lead to visual impairment. It enables referrals to be made to appropriate eye care professionals for further evaluation and treatment of serious eye problems, saying such facility would be beneficial to all.

    She noted that unlike adults, children with visual problems often do not know that the way they see the world is not the way everyone else sees it; as such they are unlikely to complain about it.

    Continuing, she said: “Their complaints may not be taken seriously by their parents who may feel that the child is pretending, as they may not want to spend much money on an eye test ‘in vain.’”

    Ani, who is an ophthalmologist, added that most parents that send their wards to public schools are economically disadvantaged and so may not be able to pay for eye tests, which to them may seem a luxury.

    “The benefits of early identification of visual problem are far-reaching, as childhood visual impairment can have a significant developmental, social and emotional impact,” she said.

  • Doctor recommends regular eye screening to prevent glaucoma

    Doctor recommends regular eye screening to prevent glaucoma

    Dr Martin Chukwukaodinaka, an Ophthalmologist at the National Hospital, Abuja, on Tuesday advised Nigerians to go for regular eye check to prevent glaucoma and other eye defects.

    Chukwukaodinaka told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that most eye diseases could be prevented.

    According to him, glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that cause progressive damage of the optic nerve at the point where it leaves the eye to carry visual information to the brain.

    He said most types of glaucoma progressed without warning or obvious symptoms to the patient.

    “Glaucoma is an eye condition that develops when too much fluid pressure builds up inside the eye.

    “Eye screening is very important for early detection of glaucoma, the disease cannot be prevented, but if it is diagnosed and treated early, the disease can be controlled,’’ he said.

    Chukwukaodinaka said that it was estimated that 4.5 million persons globally were blind due to glaucoma.

    He said that due to silent progression of the disease at least in its early stages, about 50 per cent of those affected in the developed countries were not even aware of the disease.

    The medical practitioner explained that the increased pressure which is also called Intraocular Pressure (IOP) could damage the optic nerve which transmits images to the brain.

    He added that if the eye pressure continued due to the damage to the optic nerve, overtime glaucoma could cause loss of vision, stressing that the loss of vision could not be reversed.

    “It was once believed that the cause of most or all glaucoma was high pressure within the eye which is known as Intraocular Pressure (IOP).

    “It is now established that some people with normal IOP may still have glaucoma, therefore, the diagnosis of glaucoma is not just based on IOP alone, but other factors would be considered along,’’ he said.

    He said age incidence of glaucoma was higher from the age of 40 and above.

    The eye consultant said that glaucoma usually occurred in both eyes but that it could involve each eye to a different extent.

    He said glaucoma had no early symptoms or pain from increased pressure, noting that prevention was very important through regular eye screening

    He said the diseases could be diagnosed and managed before long-term visual loss, adding that in cases that were beyond the normal rage, medication could be administered to manage the condition.

    Chukwukaodinaka said the risk factors associated with glaucoma could be inherited in the family which posed a greater chance of contracting the diseases.

    He urged the public to take a preventive measure by engaging in regular eye screening as early diagnosis of glaucoma helped in managing the condition.