Nigeria has pledged to distribute five million pairs of reading glasses and provide 25,000 free cataract surgeries by 2027 as part of efforts to improve access to eye care nationwide.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, announced the commitments at the Global Summit for Eye Health in Antigua and Barbuda.
He said the government would also train 15,000 primary healthcare workers and integrate eye care services into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
Salako said the programme would prioritise more than 25 million vulnerable Nigerians, particularly women, older persons and rural communities.
He added that Nigeria was targeting a 20 per cent increase in its eye care workforce and a 30-percentage-point rise in cataract surgery coverage by 2030.
The minister said the initiative would build on the JigiBola 2.0 programme to reduce avoidable blindness and make eye care more accessible.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s participation in the WHO’s SEE 2045 initiative, which seeks to eliminate cataract-related blindness globally.
Salako called for stronger international partnerships and proper documentation of results, noting that preventable vision loss affects education, household income, road safety and national productivity.
