By Ayo Ibrahim
The Federal Government has called for stronger and more strategic private-sector investment in eye health to reduce preventable blindness, improve productivity and strengthen Nigeria’s human capital.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made the call at a Public-Private Sector Roundtable on Eye Health in Abuja, with the theme, “GIFT of Sight: Mobilising Partnerships and Sustainable Funding towards Transforming Eye Care in Nigeria.”
Salako said eye health should no longer be regarded solely as a health-sector issue, stressing that good vision was fundamental to education, workplace productivity, economic growth and national development.
He said about 24 million Nigerians live with vision loss, much of which was linked to preventable or treatable conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, uncorrected refractive errors and digital eye strain.
The minister urged businesses in banking, manufacturing, telecommunications, energy and other sectors to regard investment in eye health as both a social responsibility and a strategic economic decision.
He called for the deployment of innovative financing mechanisms, including blended finance, social impact funds, co-financing arrangements and concessional loans, to expand eye-care infrastructure and access to quality services.
Salako also urged companies to direct their Corporate Social Responsibility investments towards structured national programmes, including school eye-health initiatives, rural surgical outreaches and permanent community-based eye-care centres.
He specifically encouraged telecommunications companies to leverage digital infrastructure to expand tele-ophthalmology, remote screening and mobile diagnostic services.
The minister further challenged Nigerian manufacturers to reduce the country’s dependence on imported eye-care products by investing in the local production of spectacle frames, lenses, ophthalmic medicines and other essential consumables.
According to him, increased local production would make eye-care commodities more affordable and accessible, while creating jobs, strengthening local supply chains and supporting Nigeria’s wider economic development.
Salako said the Federal Government’s JigiBola 2.0 initiative had, in just over one year, delivered more than two million free eye screenings, 1.5 million free spectacles, trained over 2,200 Primary Health Care workers and activated more than 800 PHC centres to provide primary eye-care services across 16 states.
He added that the next phase of the programme would extend services to more than one million Nigerians in 10 additional states, while the Renewed Hope Health Connect initiative was targeting 25,000 free cataract surgeries by 2027.
The minister commended existing private-sector interventions, particularly the partnership between First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, which he said had reached more than 400,000 Nigerians.
He urged other corporate organisations to replicate such initiatives to address the eye-health needs of Nigeria’s population of more than 200 million.
Salako reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, to creating an enabling policy environment for sustainable public-private partnerships in eye health.
He also called on development partners and civil society organisations to provide catalytic support, technical expertise and innovation to help Nigeria transition from donor-dependent interventions to a locally financed, sustainable and accountable eye-health system.
“A nation cannot march into economic prosperity if it is walking blind,” the minister said.
In her opening remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun, represented by Dr Diron Olojo, described eye health as a critical component of education, productivity, economic inclusion and human dignity.
Edun said preventable and treatable visual impairment continued to affect individuals, families and communities, stressing the need to address gaps in awareness, skilled personnel, equipment and access to services through sustained collaboration.
She said FCMB’s partnership with the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation through the Priceless Gift of Sight Initiative, launched in 2009, had provided free eye-care services to more than 400,000 Nigerians by July 2024 through eye testing, optical services, surgeries and disease management.
She urged stakeholders at the roundtable to agree on practical priorities, including identifying communities with the greatest unmet needs, developing sustainable financing plans with clearly defined responsibilities, and establishing delivery timelines and measurable indicators for accountability.
The National Coordinator, National Eye, Ear and Sensory Function Health Programme, Dr Oteri Okolo, said the meeting was aimed at highlighting the value of vision to human dignity, development, prosperity and social potential.
Okolo said eye health had historically been treated as a secondary priority but stressed that vision was essential to how people learn, work, connect and navigate the world.
She said eye health had been integrated into the broader national health architecture, guided by the National Eye Health Policy and Strategic Plan and the Integrated People-Centred Eye Care strategy.
In a goodwill message represented by the Country Director of Sightsavers, Prof. Joy Shuaibu, the Eye Health Non-Governmental Development Organisation Coalition commended the National Eye, Ear and Sensory Function Health Programme for engaging relevant stakeholders.
The coalition called for actionable solutions, innovative financing and scalable partnerships to accelerate progress towards universal access to eye-health services.
The Head of Vision Care for Development Foundation, supported by Sterling Oil, Mimansa Shulala, said restoring sight was not only a health intervention but also a means of restoring opportunity, dignity, productivity and hope to underserved communities.
She said the foundation, with support from SIPCON and the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, had screened more than 17,000 people over the past two and a half years, identified over 3,000 people requiring intervention and facilitated more than 1,500 cataract and related surgeries.
Shulala said more than 1,000 surgeries had also been conducted in partnership with the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation at its Calabar facility.
She said the foundation’s objective was to strengthen government systems, build local capacity and develop sustainable models that could be scaled across communities.
SINL Nigeria Online reports that the roundtable brought together government officials, healthcare providers, private-sector organisations, foundations and other stakeholders to strengthen collaboration towards a more accessible, equitable and sustainable eye-care system in Nigeria.
