Eighty per cent of blindness cases can be prevented if detected early, Kenya Society of the Blind said yesterday. Resource mobilisation manager Johnson Kitetu said most children become blind after birth when parents ignore symptoms.

He urged parents to take their children for regular eye check-ups. "Blindness is irreversible so let us do all we can to minimise its occurrence," he said. Kitetu was speaking after giving a donation of brail sets for primary and secondary schools with blind and visually- impaired children in Nakuru.