South Korea strengthens partnership with Nigeria, provides free eye surgery to Indigent persons

The South Korean government has strengthened its partnership with Nigeria, as its international blindness relief organisation, Vision Care has provided free cataract surgery to indigent persons at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) as part of efforts to overcome avoidable blindness in their host communities.

The Vision Care medical team in conjunction with the medical team of LASUTH performed free cataract surgery on over 200 indigent persons at the three Vision Eye camps, which commenced on September 12, 2022.

The Consular General of the Korean Embassy, Haeng Gu Kang, while expressing his delight at being a part of the project, said the mission is to give indigent citizens of Nigeria, who otherwise may have turned blind, a new lease of life.

He noted that the sponsorships from Daewoo E & C, backed by the Korean Government will go a long way in imparting better healthcare in Nigeria, which is a worldwide concern.

Speaking about the project, the Medical Support Team Manager, Vision Care Korea, Yuna Kim, said the Korean society in Nigeria has been keen on eliminating blindness among Nigerians, which necessitated the eye care project that has seen over 1,700 patients treated for free since 2015 when the project began.

Kim said the organisation, as part of efforts to overcome avoidable blindness in Nigeria, has provided free cataract surgery to over 700 indigent persons, who cannot afford to pay for the healthcare service.

She said the goal of preventing blindness in Nigeria has been made possible because of the social contribution activities of LASUTH, Korean society in Lagos and the various sponsor companies.

The Executive Director Daewoo E & C, Yeon Seop Jung, noted that sponsoring the project in Nigeria is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility towards host countries.

He said globally, healthcare is a fundamental sector that needs effective funding, as no contribution will be too much to offer.

Jung thanked the management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for accommodating the Vision Care Team and the Daewoo team over the years.

On his part, the Chief Medical Director, LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, commended the Korean government, Vision Care and Daewoo E&C team for providing quality healthcare for indigent persons in Lagos State for the past six years.

He said the free cataract surgery in is line with the State government’s T.H.E.M.E.S agenda, which also includes focusing on a partnership to provide access to quality healthcare to the people.

Fabamwo said there is a crying need to offer this service to many health centres in the state due to a large number of people with cataracts and other eye problems, who do not have the resources to get the surgery done from the out-of-pocket expenditure.