By Tunbosun Ogunbanwo
The Lagos State Government, in partnership with the Attom Foundation, on Monday flagged off a three-day free eye screening and cataract surgery programme at Philip Junction, Olusosun, Ojota, with surgeries scheduled to hold today and tomorrow at Orile Agege General Hospital. The initiative, coordinated by the Blindness Prevention Program Unit of the Ministry of Health, is expected to restore sight, dignity, and hope to residents across the state.
The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, represented by the wife of the Permanent Secretary of Lagos Health District IV, Dr. Modupe Bowale described the programme as “life-changing”, noting that eyesight remains one of the greatest gifts of humanity. She emphasized that millions globally, including Nigerians, live with preventable blindness and visual impairment, a situation the intervention seeks to address.
The First Lady lauded the Attom Foundation and Aide à l’aide Foundation for their compassion and commitment to tackling avoidable blindness. She stressed that the initiative goes beyond restoring sight to restoring productivity, independence, and hope to affected families.
Encouraging residents to maximize the opportunity, she underscored the importance of early detection and regular eye checks, urging people not to ignore minor symptoms. According to her, good vision is not a privilege but a right, and blindness remains largely preventable when people embrace timely medical care.
Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, in her remarks, expressed delight at the turnout and clarified that all services, including glasses and surgeries, are completely free. She said the initiative demonstrates the State Government’s commitment to making healthcare accessible to all residents, regardless of economic status.
The Special Adviser highlighted that poor eyesight often affects children academically, leading to mislabelling of pupils as lazy or slow learners. She explained that the programme also screens children’s eyes, ears, and teeth to enhance their learning capacity and overall wellbeing.
Beyond the exercise, Ogunyemi encouraged residents to prioritize preventive healthcare through routine checks at Primary Health Centres. She urged families to also embrace family planning services to cope with economic realities and provide better care for their children.
Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, said the government recognizes that good vision is essential to life and productivity, hence the collaboration with Attom Foundation. He assured that nobody would be excluded, as free corrective lenses and cataract surgeries would be provided to those who require them.
Dr. Ogboye disclosed that the programme will not end with this flag-off but will be conducted at least four times a year. He reiterated government’s commitment to scaling up interventions to ensure that more residents benefit from free and quality eye care services.
The Permanent Secretary further emphasized the importance of extending such interventions to children, pointing out that many are wrongly judged in schools because of undiagnosed visual impairments. Early screening, he said, gives every child an equal opportunity to thrive academically.
Director of Projects and Coordination, Attom Foundation, Tarik Abubakar, noted that Lagos was the first state in Southwest Nigeria where the Foundation was holding such an exercise. He praised the Ministry of Health for having a dedicated Blindness Prevention Unit, describing Lagos as a pacesetter in healthcare delivery.
He said the mission of the Foundation is to reduce the growing burden of visual impairments in Nigeria and commended the collaboration with Lagos State. Abubakar also hailed the government’s structure and openness to partnerships as a model for other states.
Director, Medical Administration, Training and Programmes, Ministry of Health, Dr. Mazeedat Erinosho, expressed gratitude to partners and medical teams for ensuring the programme’s success. She stressed that bringing the outreach to Onigbongbo LCDA was a way of giving back to the community.
She recalled that international footballer Victor Osimhen, who grew up in Olusosun, is one of the strong supporters of the Atom Foundation. According to her, his decision to give back to his roots is a lesson for Nigerians to always remember their communities, no matter how far they go in life.
A pupil of Olusosun Primary School, Kehinde Lukmon, who benefited from the screening, thanked the Lagos State Government and Attom Foundation on behalf of his schoolmates. He said the gesture would help children like him to see better and learn effectively in class.
The free cataract surgeries continue today, September 30, and tomorrow, October 1, at Orile Agege General Hospital, where hundreds of residents will undergo procedures to regain their sight.
