The Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has hailed the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his commitment to the healthcare of Nigerians through the ‘Renewed Hope’ Agenda focusing generally on delivering the good dividends of democracy to the people.
Ododo, on Thursday, in Okene, at the official flag off of the implementation of the Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria (ESCIN), tagged: “Jigi Bola 2.0”, disclosed that the
ESCIN is an initiative of President Tinubu.
He stressed that it is a road map that enables poor Nigerians to access the treatment of basic eye issues and the delivery of spectacles.
Arewa PUNCH reports that the initiative is being actualised through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH) in collaboration with the Kogi State Government, Sightsavers, as well as other donor partners.
The targeted beneficiaries include the elderly and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) as well as other vulnerable citizens across the country.
Ododo stated, “Mr President has again demonstrated his total commitment to the health and welfare of Nigerians through the Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria, tagged, Jigi Bola 2.0.’’
“We cannot thank Mr President enough for extending yet another health gesture to our people with presbyopic eye changes especially considering those aged 40 years and above across Nigeria.
“Many of us in the room heard or listened to Mr. President tell the eye health story of his mum a few weeks ago.
“That story was the motivation for Jigi Bola 1.0 then. It is the call to action to Learning Earning Thriving Nigeria See, JigiBola 2.0 (LET Nigeria See), in 2023, and the FMOH & SW with its partners are heeding the call.
“Mr President used his personal experience to impact the lives of millions in Lagos by catalysing the strengthening of eye care services.
“Mr President is ready to touch the lives of millions yet again on a national scale,” Ododo pointed out.
The Kogi governor who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Adeiza Abdulazeez, maintained that efforts to improve eye health were being focused on increasing access to quality and comprehensive eye care services.
“In Kogi State, the overall prevalence of blindness was 3.5 per cent, which was similar to the 3.7 per cent observed in the 2005-2007 Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey.
“Today, best estimates suggest that 24m Nigerians are living with treatable sight loss. The two leading causes are untreated cataracts and uncorrected refractive errors.
“This initiative will build the foundations to deliver change across the life course,” Ododo said.
Earlier, the National Coordinator, National Eye Health Programme, Dr Oteri Okolo, said ESCIN Jigi Bola 2.0 was put together to commemorate the maiden “World Assistive Technology Day”.
She noted that it was an initiative of President Bola Tinubu because he recognised the important role of vision in the well-being of every Nigerian as well as the social and economic development of the nation.
She stressed that the President had made eye health a priority and one of the deliverables of the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, saying the initiative was targeted at the poor people, particularly those at the grassroots.
According to her, one of the objectives of the JIGI Bola 2.0 initiative is to ensure that citizens with preventable eye defects as well as the elderly can have the vision to engage in their day-to-day activities without hindrance.
“Mr President wants to improve the productive capacity of Nigerians at grassroots, and to add to the gross domestic growth of Nigeria.
“We are here in Kogi State to start the implementation from the community level.
“The glasses will be given to every beneficiary free of charge which had already been taken care of by Mr President through the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with Kogi Government and in partnership with local and foreign partners such as Sightsavers and others.
“At least at the initial stage, we were targeting 5 million Nigerians to benefit from the free spectacles, as well as other vision screening and treatment for many Nigerians free of charge,” Okolo said.
She urged the beneficiaries to see the pair of glasses as a gift from President Tinubu as a way of improving their well-being and productivity.
Also speaking, Dr Joshua Ibenu, Programme Officer for Eye Health, Sightsavers, Kogi State, noted that Sightsavers had been a consistent partner in effective eye health services in Kogi and in Nigeria at large for about 25 years.
Ibenu spoke on behalf of the Eye Health Senior Programme Manager, Dr Selben Penzin; and Country Director of Sightsavers, Dr Joy Shaibu,
He noted that the Sightsavers had partnered with Jigi Bola 1.0 on the effective spectacle coverage initiative in 2023. Initiated by President Tinubu.
“The President has made an effective commitment to ensure that nobody is blind from refractive errors through the Jigi Bola 2.0, and Sightsavers is here again to support the initiative.
“Our goal in Sightsavers is to always be there to prevent avoidable blindness, fight disease, and ensure equality for everyone,” Ibenu said.
He encouraged women and people with disabilities (PWDs) to take advantage of the free cataract surgeries being carried out at the zonal hospitals in Kabba and Ankpa.
According to him, the free cataract surgeries for women PWDs started in January and will be terminated by the end of June 2024.
On his part, the Executive Director, Kogi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Abubakar Yakubu, noted that the agency had trained 300 health personnel in four local government areas of Kogi to provide basic eye screening and care.
The highlight of the occasion was the flag-off of the initiative by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Abdulazeez, with a presentation of the eyeglasses to the respective beneficiaries.
