Some residents of Bwari in the Federal Capital Territory have benefited from the Federal Government’s free eyeglass initiative.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Health, with support from partners, including the area council, aims to tackle presbyopia in adults aged 40 and above, in the community.

Programme Manager, Eye Care Unit, FCT Public Health Department, Dr Ehiemere Goodluck, said that the initiative was a continuation of President Bola Tinubu’s distribution of five million pairs of glasses to Nigerians.

The initiative tagged, “Effective Spectacle Coverage in Nigeria-Jiji Bola Phase II,” she explained, would check, identify and screen adults for presbyopia, an inability of the eye to focus on nearby objects due to aging.

Ms Goodluck said, “Once they are checked, we will give them reading spectacles according to the power of their eyes.’’

She added that the programme, launched in FCT in March, in Abaji, underscored the government’s commitment to improving eye health and ensuring that Nigerians take proper care of their vision.

Ms Goodluck stated that the programme was successfully carried out in Abaji, AMAC and ongoing in Bwari and would simultaneously continue across the six area councils of the FCT.

She said, “We have covered Bwari town, Dutse-makaranta and Dutse-Alhaji and we will move to Mpape community soonest.’’

Ms Goodluck urged residents in communities within the criteria to participate in the screening and take advantage of the free glasses being provided.

A beneficiary, Saadatu Mustapha, lauded the initiative.

She, however, said that she expected a thorough procedure to ensure one was not in danger of a severe or threatening visual challenge.

She said, “I expected that they will screen us thoroughly before giving us the glasses, so that if one’s case is severe, one could be referred to the hospital for more checks, unfortunately, that is not the case. I was just asked to read a piece of paper and then try several glasses with different numbers until I got the one I could read very well with and that was all. Not even our vitals like blood pressure were checked, these are some of my observations though. I believe they are experts and know what they are doing.”

Another beneficiary, Thomas Auta, expressed excitement, saying that he had difficulty reading for a while and could not afford to get a pair of glasses, but this “divine intervention” had made it possible.

Similarly, Mary Peter, also expressed gratitude for the outreach while thanking the government and its partners for the initiative.

She said that the programme made it possible for the aged in the communities to access the glasses, which she described as a necessity needed to aid vision for especially those above 50 years.

(NAN)