The Nigerian Optometric Association, NOA, Cross River State Chapter, has raised concern over the growing burden of visual impairment in the state, disclosing that about 210,000 Cross Riverians were estimated to be living with visual impairment as of 2022.
The Chairperson of the association in the state, Dr. Ogechi Cecilia Chukwu, made the disclosure during a free eye screening programme organised for teachers in Calabar to commemorate World Sight Day.
Chukwu said the association chose teachers as the focus of this year’s programme because of their strategic role in identifying eye problems among children and young people under their care.
She explained that the initiative, which began in the Southern Senatorial District, was designed to screen about 200 teachers, provide reading glasses and medications where necessary, and equip beneficiaries with knowledge on how to identify signs of eye problems among their pupils and students.
According to her, the association also used the programme to draw the attention of the Cross River State Government to the shortage of optometrists in the state, noting that only two optometrists were currently serving in the state civil service.
Chukwu said the shortage had made it difficult to extend quality eye care services to rural communities, particularly in areas where access to healthcare facilities remains challenging.
She said the association intends to extend the free screening programme to other senatorial districts but noted that the exercise would require optometrists from Calabar to travel to the affected areas because of the absence of adequate manpower in those locations.
She therefore appealed to the state government to employ and deploy more optometrists to rural communities to bridge the gap in eye care services and ensure early detection and treatment of eye conditions.
The optometrist also called for the establishment of a Department of Optometry at the University of Calabar, describing it as a strategic step towards producing more professionals who could serve the state’s growing eye care needs.
Chukwu noted that Cross River State currently has only one institution, Ojavis University, offering optometry as a course, stressing that establishing the programme at the University of Calabar would provide more indigenes with the opportunity to study the profession and eventually return to serve communities across the state.
She said the establishment of more training opportunities would also help reduce the pressure on the few practising optometrists while making it possible to deploy professionals to underserved communities.
Chukwu further disclosed that the estimated 210,000 visually impaired Cross Riverians were predominantly located in rural areas, where residents are often exposed to unqualified persons who allegedly present themselves as eye care professionals.
She warned that wrong diagnoses and prescriptions by unqualified practitioners could worsen eye conditions and, in some cases, contribute to avoidable blindness.
Giving an insight into the situation in rural communities, she said the association recently visited a quarry site in one community where it identified 18 people who were already blind and another 48 people suffering from advanced cataracts requiring urgent surgery.
She attributed the situation partly to the shortage of qualified eye care professionals in rural areas, stressing that early detection remained critical to preventing avoidable blindness.
Meanwhile, a Director in the Safe Schools and Nutrition Department of the Cross River State Ministry of Education, Mr. Akwa Akwa imo, who benefited from the screening exercise, described the initiative as timely and beneficial.
Akwa imo said he had difficulty reading some alphabets with his naked eyes before undergoing the screening, but was able to read effectively after receiving reading glasses.
He encouraged the optometrists to sustain and expand the initiative to enable more people benefit from accessible eye care services.
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Esuabang of the Safe Schools and Nutrition Department, Ministry of Education, also commended the association for taking eye care services closer to members of the public.
Esuabang said she had experienced intermittent difficulty with her eyesight since childhood, with the condition becoming noticeable again about five years ago.
She admitted that she had not taken the condition seriously or sought medical attention because it was not always severe, but expressed excitement after undergoing the screening and receiving glasses.
She urged the association to continue taking its services to schools and other communities, saying such outreach programmes would make eye care more accessible to people who might otherwise find it difficult to visit hospitals for screening.
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