Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has flagged off free eye surgery for cataract patients in Kwali Area Council of Abuja.
The secretary of the FCT Secretariat for Health and Human Services, Dr. Abubakar Tafida, who flagged off the programme at the Kwali General Hospital, said the first set of 500 indigent patients would benefit from the programme.
He said efforts to sustain the programme would be intensified with the support of development partners and other stakeholders, saying that the programme may not continue to be free of charge in the future and that the cost would be made affordable to patients.
“We took up the issue with the minister who approved that 500 patients should be operated free. This is the beginning, as we continue with this activity, we hope it will culminate in the development of a high-volume cataract surgery centre in Kwali. Even if it will not be free after some time, it is going to be cost-effective,” he said.
An ophthalmologist at UAUTH, Dr. Halima Kyari, and a partner of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, said the stakeholders were given the needed attention to the programme, because the patients have lost their sight and economic wellbeing.
She said some of the patients that have benefited from the free surgery have been blind for 10 years and that the partners provided all the consumables which complimented the efforts of FCTA.
Also, the paramount ruler and Etsu of Kwali Dr. Aliyu Shaban, commended the FCT Administration for extending such a pro-poor programme to his domain.
He appealed that the programme is sustained and possibly extended to other rural communities where many indigent cataract patients are found.
