1.7 billion people globally may go blind due to loss of vision

BY SULE TAHIR.

A recent eye survey by eye specialist under the aegis of WHO globally has indicated that about 1.7 billion people may go blind for loss of vision if proper measures in arresting rampant cases of eye complicity and treatment is not vigorously attended to by medical experts, govt, health Institution’s, and private partnership support.

In 1990 an eye survey was conducted and found that about 568 million people in the country were detected having vision loss with their eyes with 309 million males and 259 million females, while in the year 2020 the number jag up to 1,106 million with 609 million males and 497 million females, stressing if care is not taken the vision loss might further goes up to 1,758 million with 978 million males and 780 million females between now to 2050.

Presently, about 1 billion people globally are living with eye health condition in going access to eye service’s.

This was highlighted in a paper presentation titled ” Overview of blindness and way forward” presented by Dr. Abdullahi Idris an eye specialist with the Jigawa state Ministry of Health at advocacy awareness on causes of blindness and visual impairment and the way forward at the auditorium of the Ministry of Health in Dutse.

According to him,blindness could be defined as in-ability to count fingers at a distance of 3 meters in the better eye mainly due to poor eye check up in hospitals, eye clinic, poor access to medical facility to community settlements among other contributing factors.

Dr. Abdullahi rates ageing amongst preventing causes of eye problems, stressed rates of vision loss increases every decades above 50 years. Health promoter and every detection can delay or prevail many causes of vision loss.

Similarly in his presentation, Dr. A. U Abdul Rahman, Director Eye Services of the Jigawa Ministry of Health, stated in arresting eye blindness, prevention and control, we have treated over 42,000 cases of eye operations and trichiasis eye surgeon’s, in addition to the distribution of 3, 600 reading glasses to our school pupils.

Other engagements include improvement of our 7 number eye centre’s with professional doctors and nurses on eye treatment in those centre’s to most of our Communities across the 27 LGA’S in jigawa state, in addition to supply of eye surgical facilities in these 7 eye centre’s, provision of essential drugs eye ointments, among others in.most of our health facility aimed at improving health condition of our community.

He advise members of the public to be caution at all times with their eyes through visiting hospital’s time to time on eye check ups that will amiliorate major eye ailments in control of loss in sight among other major eye problems.

The one day Media Sensitization and increase public awareness on danger of rampant cases of blindness prevention and control was organized by the jigawa state Ministry of Health in conjunction with BMZ project with support of CBM and HANDS in defining ways to curtail blindness, prevention and control in jigawa state and the country at- large.