Kwara State Marks 2022 World Sight Day, Distributes Free Eyeglasses

The Kwara State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with all eye care stakeholders in the state, have jointly marked the Year 2022 World Sight Day.

The second Thursday of October has been set aside annually to increase awareness of global eye health issues, which is used as an opportunity to render communal services and target special interest groups in eye care.

The theme of this year’s celebration is, ‘Love Your Eyes, Save Lives’, and has been especially dedicated to addressing eye health issues of commercial drivers in the state.

The Eye Health Unit of the Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN), Nigerian Ophthalmic Nurses Association (NONA), Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA), Association of Nigerian Dispensing Opticians (ANDO) and Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), have all ensured that Kwara State is not left out of the global event of today.

The eye care teams are on ground at three designated locations in Ilorin namely; Kwara Express, State Secretariat of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), and the State Secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), where commercial drivers were being engaged, enlightened and screened for various eye challenges.

Eye check-up

The event was formally declared open by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Raji Razaq, at the main office of Kwara Express, along Offa-Garage road in Ilorin.

In his remarks, the Commissioner, represented by the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Hajia Barakat Olarewaju emphasized the importance of eye check-up for all and most importantly commercial drivers.

Dr. Razaq encouraged them to make good use of eye hospitals whenever they noticed any unusual feelings about their eyes, and to stay away from the consumption of substances that can affect their ability to function effectively.

Free eye glasses and medications were distributed to drivers in each of the screening centres, while another team was at the Primary Health Centre, Idofin-Igbana to provide free surgical services and eye glasses, as part of the ongoing state-wide weekly medical and surgical outreach of the state government.

Olusola Akintonde