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The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said it is not resting on its oars to combat blindness in the territory.
Secretary, FCT health and human service secretariat, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting on FCT eye care project.
He identified the major causes of blindness in the FCT to include cataract, uncorrected refractive errors, low vision, glaucoma, onchocerciasis, corneal opacity and childhood blindness.
Onakomaiya said the administration planned to control and treat these diseases through the use of trained human resources and adequate redistribution of existing personnel to areas of need where there is dearth of relevant manpower.
He further stated that as a mark of its commitment, the administration had carried out human capacity development for two optometrists and two ophthalmic nurses in low vision care and trained 60 other medical personnel in community eye health to detect early blinding eye conditions and that 50 school teachers had also been trained to screen children in 50 schools for early detection and prompt referrals as well as trained an equipment technician to maintain ophthalmic equipment.
In the area of infrastructure development, he disclosed that the administration had converted a former male ward at Kubwa General Hospital to an eye theatre, which was due for opening in two weeks, just as the hospital had received eye clinic equipment.
Speaking at the event, the sub-regional manager, International Centre for Eye care Education, Dr. Anna Ebri, explained that the FCT eye care project was a four-year project funded by Standard Chartered Bank with support by International Centre for Eyecare Education and sight savers.
She said a number of activities were outlined for each year and noted that significant achievements had been attained, just as performance and efficiency had improved.
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