The Federal Government has announced plans to provide at least five million free pairs of reading glasses and conduct 25,000 free cataract surgeries nationwide by the end of 2027 to improve access to eye care services and reduce preventable blindness.
According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this at the 49th Annual Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) and the African Council of Optometry (AFCO) in Abuja.
Salako said the cataract surgeries would be carried out under the Renewed Hope Health Connect initiative, which aims to take healthcare services closer to underserved communities. He added that funding for the programme has already been captured in the 2025 and 2026 federal budgets, with implementation expected to begin between late October and early November.
The minister noted that eye health has long been neglected despite millions of Nigerians suffering from preventable visual impairment. He said the Federal Government is strengthening eye care through the National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan 2024 to 2028, which integrates eye care services across all levels of healthcare.
He also said the government had introduced the Nigeria Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit to standardise glaucoma diagnosis and treatment, while ophthalmologists from the 36 states and the FCT have been trained to support implementation.
Salako revealed that under the JigiBola 2.0 initiative, more than 2,220 primary healthcare workers across 16 states have been trained to conduct vision screening. The programme has screened nearly two million Nigerians and provided over 1.3 million people with free reading glasses, with about 66 per cent receiving spectacles for the first time.
He described optometrists as critical to achieving universal eye health coverage, noting that their role in early detection and referral is essential to reducing avoidable blindness.
Earlier, President of the Nigerian Optometric Association, Dr Chimeziri Anderson, said the conference was aimed at harmonising optometry education and practice across Africa to improve collaboration and professional standards.
Also speaking, President of the African Council of Optometry, Dr Remi Ninkpe, called for a unified framework to strengthen optometry training, workforce mobility and eye care delivery across the continent.
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