NOA Seeks Implementation Of National Eye Health Policy
The National Optometric Association (NOA) is urging for the implementation of the National Eye Health Policy as well as the report of the National Eye Health Committee so as to ensure equitable access to quality eye care services.
According to the association, if the policy is properly implemented, it would strengthen Nigeria’s health system towards the attainment of Universal Eye Health Action.
As he spoke on Thursday during its 45th Annual General Meeting in Abuja, Dr. Obinna Awiaka, the association’s president, said that, “We are optimistic that optometrists shall be fully integrated into the course of implementation of this policy, especially at the primary health care level. This would go a long way in standardising eye care services to the teeming population and at the same time reduce brain drain to the barest minimum.”
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He also used the opportunity to “call on the government to make more employment opportunities available for optometrists to be gainfully employed in the health care sector as the current distribution of optometrists in Nigeria falls way below the World Health Organisation’s recommended proportion.”
While speaking further at the event with the theme: “Leveraging Partnerships to Transform Optometry and Eyecare in West Africa,” Dr. Awiaka explained that it was pertinent to note that optometrists, as the primary eye care providers, have always been at the forefront of waging war against visual impairment and blindness.
“However, statistics available reveal that the number of people with vision loss is expected to rise from the current figure of 1.1 billion to 1.7 billion by 2050. Over 90 percent of this figure is in the low and middle-income countries of which Nigeria is a part. Meanwhile, over 1.2 million aged 40 years and above are blind and a further 2.7 million adults – 40 years and above – are with moderate visual impairment in Nigeria.”
According to Dr. Awiaka, globally, vision loss usually costs over $411 billion, which makes it one of the greatest economic challenges one can imagine, “These statistics are scary and reemphasise the huge tasks and responsibilities left for optometrists, other eye care professionals, action agencies, and all stakeholders.”
