The Managing Director, North East Development Commission (NEDC), Mohammed Alkali, has said the training of ophthalmic solution doctors, nurses, and biomedical technicians is to “strengthen and boost” eye care in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

The two-week training at the Maiduguri Eye Hospital (MEYH) is an effort of the commission to tackle avoidable blindness, improve access to specialist eye care, and strengthen the resilience of tertiary health institutions in the Northeast.

The MD spoke on Monday during a briefing for journalists on the ophthalmology equipment setup and training (OPEP) programme in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Besides the training, Alkali added: “The two-week training was designed by NEDC to align with state of-the-art equipment to enhance surgical and diagnostic capacities in improving clinical outcomes for cataract and glaucoma patients in the Northeast..

According to him, the state-of-the-art, optimistic equipment will advance similar high-impact ophthalmic interventions in the Northeast region.

The MD further revealed: “Our intervention in the health sector could not have come at a better time, as it comprises strategic investments in modern medical infrastructures, describing it as a deliberate human capital development in the health sector.

The training was led by Prof. Abdull Mohammed Mahdi, an expert and the Chief Consultant in Ophthalmology, who said, “All of us here at the training sessions have brought decades of clinical, academic and technical expertise in raising their capacity building initiatives in the health sector.”