BENIN CITY- The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA), Edo State Chapter has commended Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for his continuous support to the optometry profession in the state.
Its appealed to the governor for speedy conclusion of employment of Optometry Interns in the state Hospital Management Board.
The association made the appeal while commemorating the 2019 World Sight Day which was christened “Vision First” in Benin City recently.
Briefing journalists at the NOA Secretariat along Forestry Road in Benin City, the state Chairman, Dr. Joe Owie disclosed that world sight is celebrated globally every 2nd Thursday of October of every year, noting that this year’s theme ‘vision first’ was apt.
He informed that the state NOA as part of its activities to mark this year’s celebration decided to organised free vision screening exercises in Nigerian Correctional Service as well as Internally displaced persons (IDP) where free reading glasses and drugs were administered.
He called on management of University of Benin to restore full accreditation status to its Optometry Department and provide necessary clinical equipment in order to facilitate training of optometry students in the institution.
“We want to also appeal for the restoring of NUC and Optometrist cum Dispensing Optician Registration Board ( ODORBN) approval for accreditation of the Optometry Department”, he said.
Dr. Owie, however, reiterated that the leadership of the state NOA has zero tolerance for practice of quackery in Edo State.
“such as organising vision screening exercise in Hospital Churchesand schools without the approval from the association as any individual or group found indulging in such acts will be handed over to the law enforcement agents for prosecution”, he warned
Speaking to The NIGERIAN OBSERVER at the Oko Correctional Service shortly before the association’s free vision screening for officials and inmates, Secretary General of Edo State NOA, Dr. (Mrs.) Atekha Onoriode said that 3 out of 4 of the world’s Vision Impaired are avoidable.
She stated that out of the 7.3 billion population in the World, 36 million, 217 million and 253 million people are blind, have moderate distance vision impairment and visually impaired respectively.
Dr. Atekha enumerated Cataract, Myopia, other refractive errors, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, age related macular degeneration as common eye problems.
