The Lagos State Government has announced that it is set to turn its general hospitals into a centre for ophthalmic specialty to improve care for patients with eye conditions, News About Nigeria reports.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this during the fourth Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Africa Retina Society on Thursday in Lagos.
He noted that the centre will provide world-class diagnostic, medical, surgical and ophthalmic services in Lagos and Nigeria, adding that the state will prioritise eye health.
Speaking at the event titled, “Upscaling Retinal Services in a Resource-Constrained Economy,” the Commissioner noted that the state is working on developing screening capacity of all its primary healthcare facilities to detect eye diseases early.
“The conditions that affect the eyes very much reflect the conditions of the community in which you live. HIV, for example, was a major problem in South Africa, and I certainly experienced the impact of HIV on our day-to-day medicine and practice.
“Here in Nigeria, we have other things. We have hypertension, diabetes, sickle cell, and lots of trauma. These are the kinds of things that we see in our clinics here in Lagos and in Nigeria.
“We need to be able to understand how these prevailing conditions really affect us,” he stated.
He further noted that efforts are ongoing to promote eye screening, especially in schools, starting with the training of teachers to detect students exhibiting challenges with their vision, adding that the state will leverage social health insurance to screen, detect and treat eye diseases as patients present at health facilities.
