Nigeria is close to eliminating Trachoma, a common eye disease that causes blindness.
Sunday Joseph, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Technical Manager for Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis, in a presentation in Kano, said that two states - Plateau and Nassarawa - have eliminated River blindness, while transmission is interrupted in 8 states, namely Kebbi, Zamfara, Kaduna, Anambra, Abia, Imo, Gombe and Delta.
He said, "Nigeria is close to eliminating Trachoma through collaboration with Sightsavers, working with 20,000 health workers providing 80 percent support to Trachoma elimination in Nigeria."
Joseph, however, said the challenges of insecurity, ineffective execution of the programme monitoring and evaluation, as well as poor government ownership and funding gaps, remain.
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Nigeria accounts for 25 per cent of Africa's NTDs and is the second with the highest burden of Trachoma after Ethiopia, according to Sightsavers, an international organisation committed to fighting NTDs in the world.
At least 3.5 million people, mostly in Northern states, are battling Trachoma, a disease commonly caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which spreads through contact with eye discharge and is common in areas with poor sanitation and limited access to water.
The Country Director of Sightsavers, Professor Joy Shuaibu, represented by the Advocacy Coordinator, Ms Esther Bature, also said access to eye care remains a major challenge, with only 4.4 per cent of Nigerians able to obtain eye health services, compared to 38 per cent in middle-income countries.
She urged government and stakeholders to increase awareness and investment in eye health using the "4Ps Approach" - Preserve, Prioritise, Prevent and Protect - to address the growing burden of visual impairment, emphasising the need to bridge the gap between tertiary health institutions and rural communities.
Barbara Anang Marok, Sightsavers' Programme Officer, Eye Health, said 4.25 million Nigerians are blind or visually impaired due largely to preventable or treatable conditions like Cataract, Glaucoma and uncorrected refractive errors.
