By Joseph Erunke

Against the backdrop of this week’s launch of the National Health Insurance Authority’s operational guidelines,the Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, has appealed to residents of the nation’s capital city to take advantage of the health insurance scheme for accessible and affordable health care.

Fasawe    who  emphasized  on the need for  Nigerians to pay attention to their sights  for maximum productivity, spoke  at a programme organised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration in commemoration of the World Sight Day with the theme, ‘Love your eyes at work.’

The event witnessed free eye screening, distribution of free glasses, HIV screening, and enrollment of residents in the Federal Health Insurance Scheme.

Fasawe said the Health Services and Environment Secretariat had received support of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to celebrate WSD in the FCT  with a view to paying attention to the sight and visual needs of workers in line with the theme for this year.

According to Fasawe: “Over the years, we have continued to strengthen our eye care delivery system in the FCT with the establishment of eye clinics in ten secondary health care facilities owned and operated by the FCTA. In all of these centres, quality eye care services are being delivered in our bid to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment in the FCT.

“Eye conditions that can cause vision impairment and blindness are, with good reason, the focus of prevention and intervention strategies. Notable, however, is that a considerable proportion of Nigerians have the tendency to wait until there is an emergency before seeking the help of the eye care professional, making intervention and treatment difficult with outcomes that could have been better if presentation was better.

You will recall that the President kicked off the distribution of five million reading glasses to Nigerians in September 2023. As an individual, I am donating 750 reading glasses to the FCTA in support of the 2023 WSD activities.

“In our continued efforts to make eye care services affordable and available to all working population of the FCTA, we are providing free eye care services to all the staff of the FCTA.”

The public health expert also disclosed that during the screening, 500 staff of the FCTA will be given reading glasses free of charge to compliment  President Bola Tinubu’s initiative.

The team according to her,  would also be visiting  Karu Abattoir and the Chief Palace in Karu , to screen workers in the abattoir, the immediate community surrounding the abattoir and the residents.

“Drugs and medical interventions will be provided while an additional 500 reading glasses shall be disposed free of charge of that community,” she said.

On his part,  Chairman of the WSD Committee and Consultant ophthalmologist at the Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja, Dr Adaora Okudo  explained that the event was aimed at to creating awareness of eye care, as well as to  carry out eye screening for staff in the FCT and other residents.

 Also speaking,  the National Coordinator, the National Eye Health Programme of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Oteri Okolo said” vision is important because it is central to living”.