In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, eye care resources are insufficient. As in other parts of Africa, the lack of available services, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, means many Nigerians have never received eye care.

According to Dr Anne Ebri, ICEE West Africa Regional Manager, ICEE is now providing a solution for the thousands of people who require eye care but have no means of getting it. “We are educating eye care professionals. The more people we can train to provide eye care, the greater the number of people will have access to it”, she said.

In northern Nigeria, a region typically lacking optometrists, 22 ophthalmic nurses have been trained by ICEE in partnership with the National Eye Centre in Kaduna, to prescribe glasses and recognise early symptoms of eye disease. These regional communities now have access to professional eye care that can restore their sight and potentially save it.

In addition, ICEE in collaboration with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and the Nigerian Optometric Association has provided 200 Nigerian optometrists with further training in community eye health and low vision. These optometrists are now addressing vision problems in rural communities from Balyesa to Maidugur.

“Our advocacy work in the region has also been very successful, particularly with State and Federal Health Ministries,” said Dr Ebri. “ICEE has been able to promote the vital need for increased eye care training programmes and the government has responded. Low vision training for all tertiary hospital based optometrists in Nigeria has been approved and the government is developing a plan to equip hospitals with skilled personnel and facilities to provide eye care,” said added.

In Ghana, like Nigeria, ICEE is actively contributing to the provision of eye care. Working with the Department of Optometry at Kwame Nkrume University of Science and Technology, ICEE provided school children in the Ashanti region with eye examinations and a pair of glasses where required.

“The school screenings in Ghana are a part of a bigger plan”, said Dr Ebri. “They are being conducted simultaneously with a study to determine the prevalence of refractive error in school aged children. The results of this study will be valuable in planning refractive error services not only in Ghana, but in other West African countries with similar socio-economic status”.

“The progress we have made in Nigeria and Ghana has been extremely rewarding. The training provided, information gathered and the relationships built are going to make a real, measurable impact on the accessibility of eye care in West Africa.” Dr Ebri added.