LAGOS State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, has disclosed that no fewer than 4,000 people have been screened and treated for various eye diseases, including refractive error, cataract, glaucoma, conjunctivitis and corneal opacity, between September and October this year.

Idris, who spoke yesterday while accessing the activities of the state's Blindness Prevention Programme (BPP), was particularly pleased with the achievements of the programme, which he noted, had gone a long way in reducing avoidable blindness among the citizenry.

He noted that most of the beneficiaries were seen during some of the free outreach services to rural areas, recalling that the programme, popularly called 'Jigi Bola', which started as an outreach programme, has now evolved a comprehensive eye health care system through decentralisation.

The commissioner explained that of the 4,000 people who benefited from the free services, 1,300 were seen at the last Free Medical Mission held at the Eti-Osa Local Council.

He stressed that of this, 653 people were given glasses, 127 were booked for special-order glasses and 197 people underwent various eye operations.

One thousand, nine-hundred and forty-seven (1,947) people were also seen during the Mini-Health Missions at Somolu, Bariga, Kosofe, Agboyi-Ketu and Ikosi Isheri local councils and Local Council Development Areas with 1,019 people given free eye glasses while another 484 of them were booked for special order lenses and another 96 people underwent surgeries.

He explained that the challenge the state faced in meeting up with the needs and requests of free services necessitated the re-modelling of the BPP into a more effective eye care service delivery, particularly at the grassroots in line with the implementation of the health reform agenda of the state.

"The state government has put in place a comprehensive eye care system, which goes from the primary, secondary to the tertiary levels. For the primary level, the government has fully integrated primary eye care into primary healthcare system by strengthening the state's capacity for efficient eye care delivery at the grassroots. What has been done so far is to train primary health care workers, including nurses and medical officers at this level and equally establish and equip 96 primary eye care units to offer primary eye care services".

He stated that the government has also procured and distributed basic tools to be used by these trained medical officers and nurses in primary eye care services, adding that these basic tools include a chart with which they can screen vision and pen touches with which they can do anterior segment examination on the eye, among others.