…as FUHSI hosts maiden international workshop on eye, ear care

By Shina Abubakar Osogbo

ILA-ORANGUN – The Federal Government has tasked expert to develop a policy that would mainstream vision and hearing impairment care into public health service with a view to reducing the scourge.

This is as the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, hosted a three-day workshop on public health planning for hearing and vision impairment at the institution’s campus.

In her keynote address, the Director/National Coordinator, National Eye, Ear, and Sensory Functions Health Programme (NEESFHP), Dr Okolo Oteri, who represented the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, disclosed that the workshop provides a platform for exchange of ideas to impact on the life of those suffering from sensory impairments.

“While clinical excellence is vital, and those skills will be a consideration in this workshop, it is Public Health Planning that allows us to scale our impact. We are not just here to discuss surgeries or hearing aids; we are here to master the “how” of systemic change. Over the next few days, our focus will be on: Moving from guesswork to evidence-based resource allocation. Folding sensory health into primary healthcare systems rather than leaving them as “add-ons.” Ensuring that the programs we design today survive beyond the current fiscal year”, she said.

The workshop facilitator and former World Health Organisation, WHO expert, Professor Andrew Smith, said the workshop is aimed at achieving WHO’s resolution of bringing hearing and vision impairment care training to the primary healthcare level, saying being the first of its kind for the Anglo-phone countries of West Africa, it is expected to open floor for more interaction on the issues.

“Well this is a training workshop. It’s called Public Health Planning for Hearing and Vision Impairment, and I’ve been running a training workshop for over 10 years on hearing health, but now we are combining hearing health with vision health, and the World Health Organization, last year released an important resolution to bring together training at the primary level and care at the primary level of health care for hearing impairment and vision impairment. So the two sensory impairments can work together, and this training workshop is the first time that such a workshop has brought together the two impairments following this resolution.

“So it’s a very important workshop, and I hope it will lead to more workshops on this topic, because it’s a new departure for the World Health Organization, and I think it’s a new departure for Nigeria and for many other countries in the world. So it’s a key event that we’re going to be holding for three-day”, he added.

In his welcome remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Akeem Lasisi, lamented that there is increasing number of people with hearing loss and blindness, hence, the workshop focused on training practitioners on how to use primary health care strategies on research and care for these patients.

“This is the first time this conference is happening in Anglophone West Africa. There are participants from everywhere; Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, even some from East Africa and various Ministry of Health in Nigeria, including some teaching hospitals.”

He noted that critical number of people will be trained in public health strategies to ultimately reduce the number of people suffering from hearing loss and reduce the impact on quality of life of those who are already suffering.

The Technical Advisor of CBM, which is the funding partner, Diego Santana, explained that CBM plays a central role in supporting training, capacity building, programme implementation across all levels of the health system from community and primary healthcare.

“We partners with local organisations in different states to advance integrated healthcare, as part of efforts to achieve universal health coverage. This involves raising awareness, reshaping public attitudes toward ear and eye health, and improving service delivery across all tiers from primary care to specialised and tertiary levels.”