World sight day:Otti’s wife tasks parents on children’s eye health
By Steve Oko
Abia First Lady, Mrs Priscilla Otti, has tasked parents to make “child eye health an urgent priority” to avoid loss of sight later in life.
The Governor’s wife who spoke during an event to mark the 2024 World Sight Day, urged parents to be intensional about the regular eye screening of their children to save them the pains of preventable blindness.
She noted that early detection of eye defects would help in their treatment or management, regretting that some people today suffer from avoidable blindness due to negligence at tender age.
“Our eyes are a window to the beauty of the world, a gateway to knowledge and opportunity. They connect us to those we love and the dreams we hold dear. Yet, across Abia State, too many of our children are facing preventable vision challenges—often undiagnosed or untreated, particularly in rural areas. This is not the reality they deserve.
“We have the responsibility not just to treat, but to prevent blindness and vision impairment. Our children deserve to grow, learn, and play with clear vision, unburdened by the avoidable challenges of poor eye health.
” By making eye health a priority, we can ensure that every child in Abia State, regardless of where they live, has access to proper care. This starts with regular eye screenings, accessible eye clinics, and programmes that extend to every corner of our communities.”
The Abia First Lady who said the establishment of Eye Health Management Bureau by her husband, Gov. Alex Otti, underscored the importance he attacked to eye health of the people, urged residents to take advantage of the many eye clinics courtesy of the State Government to examine their eyes.
Speaking at the event, Commissioner for Health, Professor Ogbonnaya Uche, said early detection of eye diseases “is very crucial for their treatment”.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Ifeyinwa Uma-Kalu, said that children who wear medically -recommended eye glasses should not be stigmatized.
He advised parents to strictly adhere to expert instructions on the eye health of their children to prevent loss of sight.
In a remark, a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, ABSUTH, Aba, Dr Charles Uchendu, said two out of every 1000 Nigerians are blind, while 16 out of every 1000 are virtually impaired.
He advised parents to present their children for regular eye checks to ascertain their vision status for early corrections.
He also advised against patronizing quacks, herbalists for eye ailments or buying eye drops without prescription from experts.
“The eye does not forgive. Any mistake on the eye may not be reversed, so, it’s better the cases are detected early and handled by experts”.
He commended Gov Otti for heavy investments in the state health sector, attesting that ABSUTH and other health institutions in the state are now receiving state attention.
Highlight of the ceremony which was preceded by a road march, included free eye screening and distribution of glasses.
Earlier in an address, the Administrator, Abia Health Management Bureau, Dr Betty Emeka-Obasi, who said the State had selected 120 teachers from both public and private schools across the state for training on how to recognize basic symptoms of eye defects.
This, according to her, is to equip teachers with the needed knowledge to identify pupils with eye challenges in their classes for proper medical attention.
She said the scheme was part of measures to contain the rising rate of eye defects among children.
Decrying the rate of eye impairments in society, Mrs Emeka-Obasi urged both teachers and parents to help identify children with eye challenges for early diagnosis and treatment.
She announced a one -week free eye screening for children and teenagers between one and 17 years at the Abia State Diagnostic Centre from October 14 in continuation of the World Sight Day.
Dr Mrs Emeka-Obasi who gave the theme of this year’s celebration as “Love Your Eyes, Kids”, identified refractive errors as the leading cause of visual impairments and blindness in children.
Citing UNICEF statistics, Mrs Emeka-Obasi said “450 million children globally, have some form of sight correction requiring medical intervention; 90 million live with sight loss while 448 million suffer from refractive errors.”
She explained that the reason children were the focus of this year’s celebration was because early detection and correction of eye problems had great impacts on their future.
Mrs Emeka-Obasi also doubles as the Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties, said special outreaches were held in six public schools in each of the three senatorial zones as part of the activities marking this year’s celebration.
She said that 3,600 pupils and 200 teachers had been screened , adding that they would be issued with free prescription glasses courtesy of the State Government.
Dr Emeka-Obasi noted that the upgraded Eye Clinic at the Abia State State Specialist Hospital, had recorded 75% leap in the number of patients visiting the facility.
She said two more Eye Clinics had been established at Amachara Specialist Hospital and Ugwunagbo Sustainable Development Hospital, adding that work has commenced at Eye Clinics at Aba and Okeikpe General Hospitals.
The SA who said commercial drivers had been screened during their outreaches, advocated regular eye checks especially for children and young people.
She thanked Gov. Otti and his wife for their numerous supports and encouragements in providing quality health care services for the people.
Dr Emeka-Obasi who also commended the Chief Medical Director of the Abia Specialist Hospital, Dr Chimezie Okwuonu as well as the other key stakeholders, promised quality eye care delivery for all residents.
” We will create a future where every resident of Abia can enjoy the gift of sight”, she said
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