World Sight Day launched

This year's World Sight Day has been launched in Accra under the theme: “Universal Eye Health” No More Avoidable Blindness.”

The Day is set aside to create awareness of blindness and impairment, as major international public health issues.

The launch was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and other partners in eye care.

Dr Oscar Debrah, Head of Eye Care at the Ghana Health Service, advised people at age 40 and above, to check their eyes once every two years, and also avoid using non-prescribed eye and harmful traditional eye medicines for any eye ailment.

He disclosed that 240,000 Ghanaians were living in low vision and blindness, thought their conditions could have been avoided because the conditions could have been treated with early reporting.

Dr Debrah mentioned cataract and trachoma as the leading causes of blindness, and said they were common usually in communities with dry, dirty and dusty environment. Mr George Kumi Kyeremeh, Director, Nursing and Midwifery at the Ministry of Health, launched the Day on behalf of the Minister for Health, and said Ghana became a signatory to the global declaration of support to vision 2020 in October 2,000, and has since worked tirelessly towards achieving the goals.

He said though the incidence of trachoma was under control, the surgical rate of cataract was increasing, and stressed the need to commit funds to undertake a population-based prevalence survey on avoidable blindness and visual impairment and their causes.

He said the National Health Insurance Scheme covered most eye diseases, and asked Ghanaians to join the scheme to access eye health care.

Nii Okai Nunoo, Regional Head, Cooperate Affairs for West Africa and a Representative of Standard Chartered Bank, said eye health lacked facilities and personnel, as regions existed without ophthalmologists.

He said the Bank chose eye care as one of its projects, dubbed: "Seeing is Believing," adding however that “we have not been able to build momentum “in many communities as people have to trek to health facilities for eye care.

He urged government to be more active in handling eye care problems.