24m Nigerians suffer sight loss, says Prof Uneke

By Jeff Agbodo

The Vice Chancellor of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS) Uburu, Ebonyi State, Professor Jesse Uneke said that astatine slightest 24 cardinal Nigerians are presently surviving with show loss.

Professor Uneke who stated this portion conducting newsmen circular the Institute for Eye Health and Visual Sciences Research (IEHVSR) said the centre has offered escaped oculus attraction to 2, 412 patients.

He said that the escaped oculus services started since February erstwhile the centre was flagged-off to assistance the agrarian dwellers and indigent persons successful the society.

According to Prof Uneke, “a full fig of 2, 412 persons comprising of 918 men(38%), 1302 women (54%) and 192 children (8%) person been treated for escaped astatine the facility. Total fig of persons attended to, from February 2025 to August 2025 ranged from 307 to 391 per month. Major cases managed /treated included: refractive errors 1, 352, Cataracts 627, Glaucoma 168, Other oculus conditions 265.

“A full 179 escaped surgeries person been done till date. A full of 1,000 escaped oculus glasses person been fixed retired including 400 speechmaking oculus glasses and 600 medicine oculus glasses. The assemblage volition proceed to fulfill its mandate of training, probe and assemblage improvement inline with the renewed Hope docket of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. It is our anticipation that this installation volition lend successful nary tiny measurement successful the advancement of technological probe and grooming successful oculus speciality and for the betterment of the prime of beingness done oculus care, probe and improvement for a amended society”.

Citing findings from the Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey, helium said astir 4.2% of Nigerians implicit 40 years aged are blind, portion an estimated 4.25 cardinal adults aged 40 and supra endure from mean to terrible ocular impairment.

The Vice Chancellor noted that 84% of blindness successful Nigeria was owed to preventable causes, stressing the request for regular oculus checks, nationalist awareness, and affordable treatment.

“Blindness successful Nigeria is associated with expanding age, being female, and mediocre literacy. Sadly, 84% of blindness cases are owed to avoidable causes,” helium explained.

He noted that cataracts and uncorrected refractive errors are the starring causes of ocular impairment successful the country, but conditions specified arsenic glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, infectious oculus diseases, and trauma besides airs important challenges.

The Vice Chancellor stressed that constricted entree to basal oculus attraction successful low- and middle-income countries similar Nigeria worsens the load of show loss, peculiarly for agrarian dwellers.

According to him, the facility, supported by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), was established to code Nigeria’s rising load of ocular impairment and blindness, which presently affects an estimated 24 cardinal people.

“Our Free Eye Care Initiative has drastically reduced avoidable blindness and provided an accidental for training, research, and diligent care.

He emphasized that the DUFUHS Eye Centre operates with a multidisciplinary squad of ophthalmologists, optometrists, nurses, biomedical engineers, and ICT experts moving to amended entree to oculus care, particularly for agrarian dwellers successful Ebonyi State and beyond.

He added that the Centre aligns with the World Health Organization’s SPECS 2030 initiative, which seeks to grow entree to quality, affordable refractive mistake services globally.

The DUFUHS Eye Centre’s superior objectives, helium explained, see enhancing accessibility to oculus services successful agrarian communities, expanding consciousness of regular oculus examinations, providing affordable solutions for the little privileged, and processing sustainable semipermanent strategies for imaginativeness care.

The station 24m Nigerians endure show loss, says Prof Uneke appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.