Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke on Wednesday presented corrective glasses and essential medications to no fewer than 42,000 students accros government schools in the State.

He also distributed free medical equipment to Osun Health Insurance Scheme, OHIS, accredited government hospitals to improve healthcare service delivery..

Speaking at the distribution exercise, organised by the Osun Health Insurance Agency, in collaboration with the Osun ministry of Education, Adeleke disclosed that no fewer than 345,000 students were screened for various eyes impairment as part of its Imole free eye care programme.

According to him, “So far, we have successfully screened 345,000 students, and over 42,000 have been diagnosed with varying degrees of visual challenges. I am pleased to announce that every one of them will receive the appropriate treatment at no cost. We began this intervention in public schools as a pilot phase, and I assure you that we will soon extend it to private schools, ensuring that no child is left behind.

“In addition to this landmark initiative, we are also unveiling multi-million naira worth of medical equipment acquired through the Osun Health Insurance Agency (OSHIA) for accredited government health facilities under the Osun Health Insurance Scheme (OHIS). This investment is aimed at ensuring that all enrolees receive the highest standard of medical care.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Osun Health Insurance Agency (OSHIA), Rasaq Akindele, emphasized that the exercise was designed to bring relief and comfort to students struggling with undiagnosed vision problems.

He said, “The idea of the imole eye health is targeted at bringing relief and comfort to the students of public primary and secondary school. Many students perform poorly in the school, not because they are nog intelligent but because they have problem with there sight, a lot of them do not see what the teacher write and demonstrate on the board.

“A lot of them strain to read their books which eventually leads to poor academic performance. These are all concerns to Mr Governor who insists that it must stop and we must give good sights to our students.”