By Ben Adoga
One in every 25 persons in Nigeria is blind; making it 4 million out of about 200 million Nigerians who are blind.
This revelation was given by the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, HHSS, Dr. Abdulrahman Tafida in Abuja.

FCT Secretary, HHSS was on Wednesday at the flag off of free eye surgery for cataract patients for the first 500 in Kwali General Hospital in Kwali Area Council of the FCT.

Tafida noted that blindness is a very depressing inability and that it was cost effective to treat.
He noted that efforts to sustain the programme would be intensified with the support of Development Partners and other stakeholders.

While he disclosed that the programme may not continue to be free of charge in the future, he explained that the cost would be made affordable to patients.

He said, ” This is the beginning, as we continue with this activity, we hope it will culminate into a development of high volume cataract surgery centre in Kwali.

“Even if it will not be free after sometime, it is going to be cost effective ” Tafida said.

Dr. Halima Kyari, an ophthalmologist at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, UATH and a partner of International Agency for Prevention of Blindness said the stakeholders were giving the needed attention to the programme, because the patients have lost their sight and economic wellbeing.

She disclosed that some of the patients that have benefited from the free surgery, have been blind for 10 years.

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Kyari disclosed that the partners provided all the consumables which complimented the efforts of FCTA.

Also, the Paramount Ruler and Esu Kwali, Dr. Aliyu Shaban , commended the FCT Administration for extending such pro poor programme to his domain.

He also appealed that the programme be sustained and possibly extended to other rural communities where many indigent cataract patients are found.

Two beneficiaries of the free surgery, Wando Samuel and Evelyn Okoye, testified to the effectiveness of the programme, saying that the surgery has restored both sight and productive life to them.