He said this was necessary due to the globally increasing trend of eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and myopia, which could result in dire consequences.

Dr. Ninkpe, who was addressing the 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Association in Ho, said a recent survey, showed that refractive errors, cataracts, and glaucoma obstructed the sights of some 200,000 Ghanaians, although 79 per cent of such complications were avoidable.

He said available eyeglasses in the country were capable of correcting defects for only 44 per cent, and said it was important for government functionaries to investigate the causes of failing eyesight, and place special emphasis on eye care, as the world “enters a new era of blindness and visual impairment”.

Dr. Ninkpe called for a resourced Health Service with increased activity in hard-to-reach areas, towards providing quality and affordable eye care services to the less privileged.

He said though there were over 300 trained optometrists and 500 optometric nurses in the country, uneven distribution of personnel had led to sparse coverage of quality eye care.

Dr. Ninkpe said the Volta region, for example, has eye centres in only 13 out of 25 districts, and said, “a nation that allows its people to go blind is in itself a blind nation.”

Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister, encouraged Optometrists to continue to serve with love and form an Optometric Council to promote quality eye care services.

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Source: GNA

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The day is marked with various important advocacy and communications events on eye care.

Audience targeted include diabetics, persons with family history of visual impairment or blindness, policymakers, government officials, partners/donors and the wider health community.

The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Stronger Together”, with a call on the various stakeholders to work together to help reduce incidents of visual impairment and blindness.

Currently, in Ghana, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), covers the treatment of some ocular diseases. That notwithstanding; there are challenges of shortage of health workers at all levels.

There are very few ophthalmologists, optometrists and nurses; hence the targets in the Global Action Plan are most likely to be missed.

As in other African countries, Ghana needs political leaders, donors and other stakeholders to increase investments in eye health.

Below is an infographic that captures briefly the state of eye care in Ghana and what can be done about the situation.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post World Sight Day 2016: The state of eye care in Ghana [Infographic] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

One of America’s leading literary voices of the last 50 years, Angelou was best-known for her 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

It was the first of seven volumes of autobiography that traced her life from a childhood of abuse and oppression in the Deep South in the 1930s.

The news was confirmed to the BBC by the mayor’s office in her home town of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Mayor Allen Joines said he was “very sad of her passing”.

Her poetry collections included Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie (1971), And Still I Rise (1978), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987), and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990).

Her poem On the Pulse of the Morning, written for US President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration, sold more than a million copies in the US.

Source: BBC

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