Over 250 persons living with disabilities have benefited from the free eye treatment programme of the Sightsaver International project targeted at rural communities to address the prevalent cases of eye problems in Shendam LGA of Plateau State.

The country director of Sightsaver, represented by the programme officer of Eye Health, Ebenu Joshua, disclosed this while speaking to journalists at the newly built eye care facility in the General Hospital Shendam.

According to him, no fewer than 250 persons have so far benefited from the eye intervention.

"Today, we are having a targeted screening for persons with disabilities in the Southern zone of Plateau State. They are having their eyes checked, and we screen them and see if they have any problems so that we can help them out.

"This is under the Plateau State Inclusive Eye Program where we are supporting the Plateau State government to establish a comprehensive eye program that is affordable, accessible and sustainable for the citizens.

"The intervention today for persons with disabilities is free, and we are giving free medication and eyeglasses. We are expecting over 250 people; we have attended to 120 persons already on day one," he noted.

Meanwhile, the programme director of the Health and Development Support Program (HANDS), Dr Innocent Emereuwa, said some of the cases discovered during the two days of eye care medical outreach consisted of cataracts and glaucoma. He added that some patients undergo eye surgeries, while those with severe cases were referred to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for further medical interventions.

One of the beneficiaries, Mr David Zembyen, who has been battling eye problems for 30 years, commended Sightsaver for the intervention.