Nigeria lags behind in WHO’s fight against avoidable blindness

Health professionals have expressed concern over Nigeria’s slow progress in meeting the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target of eliminating avoidable blindness, warning that millions of citizens remain at risk of permanent vision loss if urgent measures are not taken.

According to experts, no fewer than 23 million Nigerians currently suffer from different forms of eye problems, with one in every four people battling conditions such as glaucoma, cataract, and refractive errors.

They stressed that without timely intervention, the burden of vision impairment would continue to weigh heavily on families, communities, and the nation’s economy.

This revelation came to light during a free medical outreach organised by the Nigeria Optometric Association (NOA), Ogun State chapter, in partnership with Restore Foundation for Child Sight, a non-governmental organisation focused on tackling childhood and adult blindness. The outreach, which held in Abeokuta, provided over 600 patients with free eye surgeries, eye examinations, and eyeglasses.

Chairman of the association, Dr. Chinedu Adelanwa, noted that despite WHO’s “Vision 2020: The Right to Sight” initiative, Nigeria has fallen short of expected progress in curbing avoidable blindness. He explained that while other countries have scaled up efforts in early detection, preventive treatment, and public enlightenment, Nigeria’s eye health services remain largely underfunded and inaccessible to rural communities.

“Eye health is not just a medical issue, it is a national development issue,” Adelanwa said. “When 23 million Nigerians are struggling with vision problems, it affects their productivity, reduces quality of life, and puts pressure on the economy. We need urgent government investment and collaboration with private organisations to close this gap.”

He further appealed to federal and state governments to integrate eye care into primary healthcare delivery, provide adequate equipment in public hospitals, and fund more community outreach programmes across the country.

Beneficiaries of the programme expressed gratitude, noting that the intervention had restored hope to people who could not afford expensive treatments. Many of them called for such initiatives to be sustained and extended to other parts of the country.

Health experts at the event concluded that Nigeria’s ability to meet global eye health goals would depend largely on increased awareness, investment in preventive care, and political will to make vision a priority in national health planning.