• Foundation pushes to end rising cataract cases with 2,000 free surgeries
• Raises concerns over river blindness, distributes 6,000 free eyeglasses in Niger State
Loveworld Medicaid, a member agency of the Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International, yesterday, revealed that about 18,000 individuals with visual impairments have received free treatment and improved sight under the organisation’s Vision 10,000.
The programme, according to an Assistant Director of Loveworld Medicaid, Dr Jumoke Ola-Akinsanya, commenced last year May, with indigents and underserved communities as targets, delivering free eye care services, including screenings, medical check-ups, surgeries, and free eyeglasses to beneficiaries across Nigeria, Africa and Asia. She revealed that the goal is to reach 100,000 people in the next one year through the support of its partners.
Speaking at the one year commemoration of the vision, which was also used to mark 2025 World Sight Day, Ola-Akinsanya explained that 725 free corrective eye surgeries were carried out successfully, while 8,507 prescription glasses were dispensed.
Akinsanya added that 8,069 individuals were provided with essential eye medications to manage their conditions effectively. She stated that the Vision 10,000 Free Eye Surgeries Initiative was a bold step towards eliminating avoidable blindness and ensuring that no one is left in the dark because they cannot afford care.
She argued that the crisis of visual impairment remains a significant global health challenge, saying 1.1 billion people worldwide live with vision loss, and in Nigeria alone, more than 24 million people suffer from varying degrees of visual impairment, with 1.3 million completely blind.
Ola-Akinsanya expressed deep significance of the intervention, noting that “every restored sight is a story of hope rekindled. We have seen the joy of children who once struggled in school, finally able to read clearly.”
In his remark, the Clinical Director, Loveworld Medical Centre, Emeka Eze, described the initiative as one that is touching and transforming. He stressed that there is a need for urgent intervention on the part of well-to-do Nigerians to support those who cannot access medical care, noting that many cases only require little intervention.
Similarly, in his goodwill message, Pastor Bismark Akintoye Johnson, on behalf of the Head, Humanitarian Affairs & Diplomacy/Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International, said the project is a testimony of impact and the tangible expression of divine love, and purpose in motion.
RELATEDLY, the non-profit arm of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, Mainstream Foundation, has said that there is a need to consistently phase out blindness in Nigeria.
This comes as the Foundation has conducted over 2,000 free cataract surgeries, distributed more than 6,000 pairs of glasses, and examined over 22,500 patients in the last 10 years.
Programme Manager at the Foundation, Zayyan Illo, decried the spread of blindness in riverine communities in the country, stressing that the economic impact of blindness on vulnerable populations remains unbearable.
Illo said the initiative is part of a broader commitment to advancing health, education, environment, and empowerment across communities in the northern part of the country and beyond.
He noted that the Foundation organises medical outreaches three to four times yearly, sometimes even more, aimed at prioritising eye health because of its direct link to quality of life, productivity, and economic wellbeing.
“We observed many cases of river blindness, cataract, and severe eye allergies, particularly in rural and low-income communities that lack access to eye specialists. We saw it as a duty to intervene and help people restore their vision and, by extension, their dignity,” Illo said.
