No fewer than 1.2 billion people worldwide are visually impaired, according to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Professor Emmanuel Esenwah.
Prof. Esenwah disclosed this during a lecture at a symposium held in Umuahia, Abia State, to commemorate the 2025 World Sight Day. The event brought together eye health experts and policymakers who expressed concern over the rising cases of glaucoma in the South East.
The don identified major obstacles to accessing eye care services as ignorance, shortage of trained eye professionals, superstition, and harmful traditional practices.
He recommended health education, early detection, healthy living, and increased manpower in the sector as strategies to reduce the burden of visual impairment.
“All hands must be on deck through an integrated, people-centred approach to deal with the challenge,” Esenwah said.
He commended the Abia State Government for improving access to eye care at the grassroots and urged other states to emulate its efforts.
Meanwhile, the Abia State Government has banned all unauthorized free medical outreaches in the state, following a tragic incident in Abiriba where an unapproved medical mission led to loss of lives.
The Commissioner for Health, Professor Ogbonnaya Uche, said any medical outreach must henceforth receive approval from the Ministry of Health and be conducted only in accredited health facilities.
“Nobody is permitted to carry out any free medical outreach outside of a hospital, and without permission of the Ministry of Health. This is important because such illegal outreaches often distribute fake medical products,” Uche warned.
He also announced a ban on media promotions of medical products without official validation of their efficacy claims, directing the Director of Medical Services to notify media houses to stop airing unverified medical adverts.
Uche lamented that many Nigerians suffer complications and even death from fake and substandard drugs, urging residents to undergo comprehensive eye checks annually.
Citing World Health Organization (WHO) data, he said the prevalence of blindness among Nigerians above 50 years is nine in every 100 adults, while among children and adults, it ranges between 0.2% and 0.4%, amounting to nearly 400,000 children nationwide.
The Administrator of the Abia State Eye Health Management Bureau, Dr. Betty Emeka-Obasi, encouraged residents to make eye checkups part of their birthday routine, commending Governor Alex Otti for his support in strengthening the state’s eye health infrastructure.
She noted that the government has upgraded the tertiary clinic at the Abia State Specialist Hospital, Umuahia, and established three new eye centres at Amachara, Ugwunabo, and Aba General Hospitals.
“Our vision is to ensure every resident enjoys affordable, standardized eye care tackling avoidable blindness and promoting lifelong visual wellbeing,” she stated.
As stakeholders call for collective action, the World Sight Day message resonates across Nigeria: eye health is essential to overall well-being and economic productivity.
