The Head of the Eye Care Unit at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. James Addy says eye-related problems can be reduced in the country if individuals take good care of their eyes.
A survey conducted this year by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) revealed that a total of 227,920 Ghanaians are blind whereby 54.8 percent of the blindness was caused by Cataracts, 19.4 percent was due to Glaucoma with 12.3 percent caused by segment diseases like diabetes, and 11.2 percent from Cornea- related diseases.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra to commence the celebration of world sight day which falls annually on the second Thursday of October, Dr. Addy stressed the need for Ghanaians to adopt healthy lifestyles in order to protect their eyes.
“In our part of the world the sun shines very well and yet we walk through it without any sunglasses. We are not protecting our eyes. Moreover, as long as we prolong our exposure to screens at home and then at the workplace, at our Churches, and even in some of our schools, we are not protecting our eyes. In order to protect our eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet light, we have to wear protective sunglasses.” He said
Read also: West Africa’s terrorism landscape is diverse -Prof. Aning
World Sight Day is aimed at creating awareness to focus global attention on vision impairment, including blindness.
This year’s celebration is on the theme “Love Your Eyes.”
Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
