Sightsavers: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 October 2024:
At this year’s World Sight Day, commemorated last Thursday 10 October, international development organisation Sightsavers called for better access to eye health services for everyone from children to the elderly and for the implementation of policies that ensure eye care services are integrated into the national health system.
Vision problems don’t just affect the elderly, a common misconception. Everyone, at some point, needs support to maintain good eye health: to see the board at school, to drive and work, and for independence later in life. Yet eye health is a neglected area of healthcare, and people are struggling unnecessarily with avoidable blindness and vision impairment.
In Sierra Leone and around the world people are gathering colleagues, friends, or items from work or home together to form as big an eye shape as they can, and sharing their #EyeCreation on social media, because we need big changes to address the global inequity of eye health.
Tiangay Gondoe, Senior Programme Manager at Sightsavers comments: “Two-thirds of people don’t have access to the glasses they need to see clearly. This applies to children as well as adults. A lack of access also impacts treatment for other eye conditions like cataracts, which a child can be born with.”
Globally, there are 1.1 billion people who have an untreated or preventable visual impairment. Women account for more than half of blindness and visual impairment across the world. Compared to people without disabilities, people with disabilities are also three times less likely to get the healthcare they need.
Tiangay Gondoe continues: “In Sierra Leone the numbers are shocking, there were an estimated 820,000 people with vision loss In Sierra Leone or have moderate to severe vision impairment from cataract or refractive error. Sightsavers is working with the Ministry of Health and partners to improve access to quality, affordable eye health services for all.”
Across the world, the avoidable vision issues of cataract and uncorrected refractive errors, such as short-sightedness, are the leading causes of blindness and vision impairment respectively.
Addressing the world’s eye health issues would cost just a sixteenth of the annual global productivity loss due to visual impairment. For example, having the right glasses could help people increase their earnings by a third, in turn boosting the economy. Yet, most people don’t have access to the glasses they need, and children with vision impairment in low- and middle-income countries are up to five times less likely to be in formal education, impacting their prospects.
160.7 million people of working age (15-64 years) are blind or have a visual impairment.
The impact of eye health can be seen in Sia who was diagnosed with cataracts in both of her eyes during one of our targeted outreaches for women, children, and persons with disability in Koidu town. She was screened and referred to the eye department in Kenema where her surgery was successfully conducted.
As a vegetable farmer, Sia’s sight loss severely impacted her ability to cultivate crops and travel to market to sell her produce. “I worried because I was unable to do my day-to-day gardening, and this was my major source of income, and going to the hospital and paying for surgery was impossible because I had no money and no support from my children”.
When Sightsavers’ team conducted her first post-operation assessment, Sia was excited with a big of a smile on her face. “I have regained my sight. Thanks to Sightsavers for supporting the free screening of poor and marginalized women like me who would have gone blind without your support”.
Tiangay concludes: “Many eye health interventions can be relatively small or straightforward, yet the impact can be life changing.”
Sightsavers, the Ministry of Health, and partners are also marking World Sight Day by raising awareness of the government’s commitment to inclusive eye health and supporting eye health screenings and outreach activities in hard-to-reach communities.
Staff and partners are also creating an #EyeCreation, making the shape of an eye with items or people and sharing this on social media to raise awareness of eye health and its transformative impact.
Sightsavers wants the government to implement policies that ensure eye care services are integrated into the national health system and allocate funding for equitable eye health initiatives. By taking these steps, we can make a significant impact on the eye health of our nation. Let’s come together to ensure that everyone in Sierra Leone can enjoy the gift of sight.
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