Fed Govt Targets 25m Nigerians For Eye Care

The federal government has pledged to provide five million pairs of reading spectacles and 25,000 fully subsidised cataract surgeries by 2027 as part of efforts to tackle avoidable blindness.

The initiative will also expand access to eye care services for 25 million vulnerable Nigerians.

The minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, who disclosed this at the closing session of the Global Summit for Eye Health, said the commitments were part of Nigeria’s eye health transformation agenda,

which prioritises women, older persons and underserved rural populations who face barriers to accessing affordable and quality eye care.

He also announced plans to integrate Primary Eye Care into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and train 15,000 primary healthcare workers to strengthen the delivery of eye care services at the grassroots.

The minister further pledged to increase Nigeria’s active eye care workforce by 20 per cent and improve the country’s Effective Cataract Surgical Coverage (eCSC) by 30 percentage points by 2030.

Describing eye health as a fundamental human right and an essential component of human development, Salako said avoidable vision loss goes beyond individual health challenges, affecting education, household welfare, personal safety and national productivity.

He recalled Nigeria’s experience with the JigiBola eye care initiative introduced in Lagos State about 25 years ago, noting that the programme had evolved into a broader national intervention through the Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative, known as JigiBola 2.0.

According to him, the development demonstrates how successful state-level interventions can be expanded into national health programmes.

The minister also highlighted Nigeria’s participation in the World Health Organisation’s Global Cataract Surgery Initiative, known as SEE 2045, which seeks to accelerate global efforts to eliminate cataract-related blindness.

He, however, stressed that achieving the targets would require sustained domestic financing, stronger public-private partnerships, collaboration with international development partners and measurable accountability for commitments made.

Salako called on participating countries and global partners to translate their pledges into practical interventions, including access to spectacles, timely referrals and affordable cataract surgeries.

He noted that about $60 million had been pledged towards assistive technology, while 15 private-sector commitments valued at over $468 million had been secured for accelerated eye care implementation.

The minister added that about 143 additional commitments had been made by organisations outside government, reflecting growing global support for efforts to improve access to eye care.

He said the success of the initiative would ultimately be measured by the number of people whose sight was protected or restored through accessible and sustainable eye care services.