More than five million pairs of eyeglasses will be given to Nigerians with vision impairments thanks to a partnership between the Peek Vision Foundation and the National Eye Health Programme of the Federal Ministry of Health, which President Bola Tinubu has approved.
During a courtesy visit by Andrew Bastawrous, CEO of the foundation and co-founder of the Vision Catalyst Fund, Tinubu made the announcement on Friday in Abuja.
According to the President, his own personal experience with visual health encouraged him to endorse the programme.
He described how his mother was able to see properly once more after acquiring a set of glasses, but he also questioned how other people in her situation would fare if they were left alone.
“My mother, may she rest in peace, gave me my first encounter. She couldn’t recognise me since she was sick. Ajuri Ngelale, the president’s spokeswoman, quoted the president as stating, “When I interfered, she was treated and given a set of glasses.
“She then inquired, ‘I have you, and you are able to do this for me.'” What about those other mothers and their kids who might not have someone to step in like you did?
“In response to my mother’s inquiry and her desire to see others healed, I promised her that I would strongly promote the widespread availability of eye care and that I would offer free eye exams and operations to individuals.
Millions of individuals in Lagos finally had their eye health affected by our efforts, and you could see their delight at the immediate improvements in their vision that they experienced after receiving a pair of glasses, he continued.
In addition, Tinubu declared that he would support the effort and urge the mobilisation of further commitment to carry it through and assist disadvantaged people all around our nation.
Although I am touched, the President continued, “Some parents may not pay attention to this.
Speaking as well, Bastawrous noted that eye care was still “chronically under-resourced” in many nations, noting that estimates for Nigeria revealed only 0.0002% of the country’s health budget was allocated to eye care.
According to a report, he said, “The good news is that President Tinubu has a great team in the health sector, and some of them have shown amazing leadership in the area. To assist Nigeria access resources from many sources, we would like to bring our Peek Vision methodology and platform there.
“Peek in Botswana freed $10 million for the education initiative, and in Kenya, €17 million, in the nations where we have worked. We’ve had a donation of 200 million pairs of glasses through the Vision Catalyst Fund, and we’d like a sizable chunk of those to go to Nigeria.
