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Kwara Govt To Provide Free Eye Treatment To 5,000 People

As part of activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Kwara State, the government is set to provide free medical treatment to 5,000 patients to … Continue reading Kwara Govt To Provide Free Eye Treatment To 5,000 People


As part of activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Kwara State, the government is set to provide free medical treatment to 5,000 patients to reduce the scourge of blindness in the state.

The state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed at one of the celebratory events assured residents of the government’s readiness to continue partnering with relevant health stakeholders in providing affordable and quality healthcare services to the people.

Also at the event, an ophthalmologist, Dr Abubakar Ayinla said one per cent of the nearly three million people of the state have one eye problem or the other.

According to him, some of the ailments include glaucoma which he said cannot be cured through the use of drugs or glasses but can only be controlled.

He, therefore, advised that residents should come for regular eye check up to avoid permanent blindness.

“Like most states in Nigeria, Kwara is a resemblance, the statistics we work with is one per cent of the population having eye challenges and fifty per cent are due to cataract and the good thing is that it could be reversed.

“Once you do surgery, the patient gets back his vision but there is another common problem which is itching of the eyes.

“The one that is irreversible is glaucoma. Even if you give drugs and surgery, it does not eliminate the problem of glaucoma but only reduces the extent of damage.”

Also in efforts to bringing an end to the scourge, the Secretary to the State Government who represented the governor, noted that “the government has equipped health centres across the state to provide quality healthcare for the people.”