Ghana Optometric Association outlines 7 ways govt can provide improved eye care service delivery

The Ghana Optometric Association during its 11th Annual General Meeting made some observations that need the urgent attention of government to provide improved eye care service delivery to the population.

In a press release signed by the National President, Professor Dr Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi, government has to post several trained optometrists who have completed their mandatory one-year internship to serve communities without eye care personnel.

He also called for an expanded scope of optometric practice in alignment with international best practices to meet evolving eye care needs in Ghana.

"Currently, the Food and Drugs Authority does not consider spectacle lenses as medical supplies. This situation does not subject lenses to standard checks when they are being imported into the country. This has created a market for substandard lenses in the country. The Association is calling on the Food and Drugs Authority to include spectacle lenses in the list of medical supplies in order to ensure that only quality lenses are imported into the country," part of the release read.

"The Association pledges its support to efforts by the Government and its Agencies as well as those of non-governmental Agencies to reduce blindness and visual impairments in Ghana. We will continue to collaborate with other professional bodies, particularly our fellow eye care cadres, to achieve effective coverage for eye care in Ghana," it added.

This year's AGM brought together optometrists from most parts of Africa including Nigeria, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, Botswana, Djibouti, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ghana.