Mandate secretary, health services and environment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, has urged residents to care for their eyes, especially at work place, and take advantage of the health insurance scheme for accessible and affordable health care.
Fasawe, who stated this on Tuesday at a programme organised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in commemoration of the World Sight Day, with the theme; ‘Love your eyes at work,” said the theme of the celebration is apt as it emphasises on the need for eye care at workplace.
She said the Health Services and Environment Secretariat has received the support of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to celebrate WSD in the FCT and pay rapt attention to the sight and visual needs of the workers in line with the theme for this year.
“Over the years, we have continued to strengthen our eye care delivery system in the FCT with the establishment of eye clinics in ten secondary health care facilities owned and operated by the FCTA. In all of these centres, quality eye care services are being delivered in our bid to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment in the FCT,” she stated.
She stressed the need for proper eye care and early presentation of eye problems, saying a considerable proportion of Nigerians have the tendency to wait until there is an emergency before seeking the help of the eye care professional, making intervention and treatment difficult with outcomes that could have been better if presentation was better.
Fasawe recalled that the President kicked off the distribution of five million reading glasses to Nigerians in September 2023, adding that as an individual, she would be donating 750 reading glasses to the FCTA in support of the 2023 WSD activities.
“In our continued efforts to make eye care services affordable and available to all working population of the FCTA, we are providing free eye care services to all the staff of the FCTA,”she said.
Emphasising that the screening was not just for civil servants, but also for everyone to know the importance of eye care, the public health expert said the team would go to the Karu Abattoir and the Chief Palace to screen the workers in the abattoir, the immediate community surrounding the abattoir, and the residents.
“Drugs and medical interventions will be provided while an additional 500 reading glasses shall be disposed free of charge of that community,” she added.
Speaking on the benefits of the health insurance scheme, the mandate secretary said it covers primary and secondary health services, including hypertension, diabetes, malaria, arthritis, delivery, Caesarean Section, eye problem, among others.
“The scheme is not only in government hospitals, private hospitals are involved too including the National Hospital.Once you pay, you get enrolled and you begin to get your benefits,” she added.
The national coordinator, National Eye Health Programme of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Oteri Okolo said vision is important because it is central to living.
“At the FMoH, eye care is one of the key areas we pay attention to and we use this opportunity to create awareness about the importance of good vision.
“So, we are saying if you are at work, you need to take care of your eyes, see an expert, get your eye checked, and if you need glasses, ensure you get it to increase your productivity,” she advised.
