The Nigerian government says its partnership with the Jigi Bola Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria (ESCIN – Jigi Bola 2.0) has unlocked fresh investments in eye health, including the €15 million Christian Blind Mission (CBM) VisionQuest Nigeria multi-state programme and the $5 million Bloomberg Focus on Vision Project being implemented by Sightsavers.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Tuesday at the State House, Abuja, while briefing journalists on the government’s collaboration with private sector donors to expand access to eye care services and address eye health challenges at the grassroots.
Speaking at the Meet-the-Press platform, the Minister said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to health sector reforms has strengthened investor confidence and attracted increased funding for eye health interventions across the country.
Salako also disclosed that no fewer than 1,444,581 Nigerians have received free reading glasses under the Federal Government’s Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria, also known as Jigi Bola 2.0, in the first year of implementation.
He said the initiative, implemented through the National Eye, Ear and Sensory Functions Programme (NESHP) of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), was part of the Presidential plan to deliver five million free pairs of eyeglasses to Nigerians who need them.
“Within just one year of implementing the first phase of the Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria (ESCIN – Jigi Bola 2.0), the programme—designed around sustainability and philanthropic models—has delivered more than 1.3 million free reading glasses and screened over 1.5 million Nigerians aged 40 and above across 16 states of the federation, making it one of the largest vision-care distribution efforts on the African continent,” he said..
He added that within 12 months, the programme had also screened 1,541,325 Nigerians aged 40 and above for presbyopia across 16 states, describing the rollout as one of the largest vision-care distribution efforts on the African continent.
According to him, the 16 states currently implementing the presidential initiative are Bayelsa, Delta, Ekiti, FCT, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Plateau, Ogun, Kwara, Benue, Sokoto and Jigawa.
The minister said the programme recorded a 94 percent utilisation rate of donated glasses, noting that 65 percent of beneficiaries received their first-ever pair.
Salako added that the initiative also helped to close gender gaps in access to care, with 53 percent of recipients being women.
The Minister noted that the programme strengthened primary eye care delivery by training 2,216 primary healthcare workers and activating 811 PHC facilities to provide basic eye services, including screening, counselling, first aid, dispensing of reading glasses and referral of advanced cases.