The David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, Ebonyi State, has raised concern over the rising burden of visual impairment in Nigeria, revealing that at least 24 million Nigerians are currently living with sight loss.
Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Jesse Uneke, disclosed this while addressing journalists during a press engagement at the university’s Institute for Eye Health and Visual Sciences Research (IEHVSR). He said findings from the Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey indicate that about 4.2 percent of Nigerians aged 40 and above are blind, while 4.25 million adults in that age group suffer moderate to severe visual impairment.
“Blindness in Nigeria is associated with increasing age, being female, and low literacy. Sadly, 84 percent of these cases are due to avoidable causes such as cataracts and refractive errors,” Uneke said.
As part of efforts to reverse the trend, DUFUHS established its ultramodern Eye Centre and IEHVSR with support from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). Through its Free Eye Care Initiative, the centre has in just six months provided free treatment to 2,412 patients—comprising 918 men (38%), 1,302 women (54%), and 192 children (8%).
According to statistics released by the institution, the cases managed included: Refractive errors: 1,352 patients (56%), Cataracts: 627 patients (26%), Glaucoma: 168 patients (7%) and other eye conditions: 265 patients (11%)
In addition, the Centre successfully carried out 179 free surgeries and distributed 1,000 eyeglasses, including 400 reading glasses and 600 prescription glasses, to patients at no cost.
Professor Uneke emphasized that the Eye Centre is not only a treatment hub but also a facility for cutting-edge research, training, and community development.
“The DUFUHS Eye Centre and IEHVSR are state-of-the-art establishments for excellence in eye research, training, and patient care. They operate with a multi-disciplinary team of ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses, biomedical engineers, ICT experts and other specialists,” he said.
He added that the institution’s overall mission is to reverse both medical and educational tourism by building centres of excellence capable of providing world-class care and training.
The DUFUHS Vice Chancellor noted that the Eye Centre’s operations align with the World Health Organization’s SPECS 2030 initiative, which seeks to expand access to affordable refractive error services globally.
“Our Free Eye Care Initiative has drastically reduced avoidable blindness and created opportunities for training, research, and patient care. We are committed to improving access to affordable eye care, especially for rural dwellers in Ebonyi State and across Nigeria,” he assured.
Uneke stressed that Nigeria must urgently prioritize eye health, given the scale of sight loss in the country. He warned that the lack of access to basic eye care in rural and low-income communities would continue to worsen the problem if not addressed.
He reaffirmed the commitment of DUFUHS to strengthening research, training, and community outreach in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Our institution will continue to develop long-term, sustainable strategies to tackle blindness and visual impairment, because sight is life and every Nigerian deserves the right to see,” he concluded.
