FG To Address Vision Impairment, Child Blindness

As part of activities to commemorate the 2024 World Sight Day, the federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing vision impairment and blindness among children.

The coordinating minister of health and social welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, stated this yesterday at a stakeholders’ forum to mark the 2024 World Sight Day, themed: “Love Your Eyes Kids” in Abuja.

The minister highlighted the government’s commitment to tackle vision problems in children, noting that millions of children globally suffer from untreated eye conditions which hinder their education and future potential.

Represented by the director of special projects, Dr. Charles Nzelu, the minister said, “The theme of this year’s campaign underscores our collective responsibility to ensure that every child deserves to see the world with clarity and precision.”

He added that improving children’s vision health was essential for achieving several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including quality education, poverty reduction, and economic growth.

Prof. Pate noted that the federal government has initiated several programmes to expand access to vision care, include integrating Primary Eye Care (PEC) into Primary Health Care (PHC) to reach rural communities and the Effective Spectacular Coverage Initiative Nigeria (ESCIN) Jigibola 2.0, which was recently launched.

He also stressed the importance of partnerships with other ministries, the private sector, and the media to raise awareness and ensure sustainable efforts.

Pate urged parents, caregivers and teachers to support these initiatives, emphasising that at least 450 million children worldwide have vision conditions, with 90 million of them living with some form of vision loss.

The national coordinator of the Eye Health Programme, Dr. Oteri Okolo, who represented the permanent secretary in the ministry, Kachallum Daju, noted that World Sight Day provides a platform to spotlight the challenges of vision impairment in children and to drive efforts towards effective solutions.