A total of 160 cataract patients, including three children born with the disease, were on Wednesday successfully operated upon when the NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte flagged off its South West free cataract screenings and extractive surgeries in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The exercise, held at the Ophthalmology Center of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State, witnessed the convergence of about 800 patients who had earlier been screened and booked for a sight restoration surgery extractive session that principally targeted 1,000 patients from across the South West geopolitical zone.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony, which had in attendance one of the prominent traditional rulers the state, the Olowu of Owu Abeokuta Kingdom, Oba Professor Saka Matemilola and other state government functionaries, Managing Director, NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte, Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe explained that the medical outreach was packaged together purposely to combat the widespread issue of vision impairment caused by cataracts that have severely impacted many Nigerians.
Arukwe, who was represented by the foundation’s Deputy Manager (Programme), Barr Teniola Abu, hinted that the Foundation, being the social impact arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), was motivated to embark on the outreach because it understood that “vision is not merely a sense but a fundamental enabler of human dignity and opportunity.”
“This understanding is at the core of our initiative. We are dedicated to creating sustainable, far-reaching initiatives. This programme embodies our commitment to building a society without one being left behind. It aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3”.
Arukwe further disclosed that the NNPC Foundation’s South West medical outreach programme, which commenced yesterday in Abeokuta, would be expanded to the five other geopolitical zones across the country in the coming months, thereby bringing the total number of NNPC’s sight restoration medical outreach to 6,000 Nigerians.
“Cataracts remain one of the leading causes of blindness globally. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 50% of blindness cases in Nigeria are caused by cataracts. In underserved areas, such as many parts of the South-West, limited access to quality eye care exacerbates this challenge.’’
In his address, the Center’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor Adewale Musa-Olomu, urged the NNPC not to limit the medical outreach programme to cataract screenings and extraction surgeries alone but to cover other areas, like cancer.
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