Nandi Hills County Hospital, in collaboration with Eldo-Eye Hospital in Nandi Hills, joined the rest of the world in celebrating this year’s World Sight Day by offering free eye checkups to the local residents.
Speaking at Nandi Hills County Hospital, County Director of Health Dr Christine Chebet underscored that the health of our eyes is a central component of our lives that should be highly protected, noting that seeking a timely eye checkup can greatly save the eyesight of many people.
Chebet revealed that over one billion people in the world live with eye-related conditions ranging from bacterial infections and allergies, among others; hence, the reason people should step up early eye checkups to prevent partial or permanent blindness.
She noted that the Nandi County government is committed to ensuring residents receive eye sight services, adding that the health department has a programme of taking eye services close to the people in the interior areas of the county, noting that so far, they have served two sub-counties, and plans are underway to ensure the remaining four sub-counties are catered to.
World Sight Day is observed annually on the second Thursday of October as a measure to create global awareness about blindness, vision impairment and the importance of eye health for all age groups.
This year’s theme is “Love Your Eyes”, thus emphasising the need to prioritise eye health as well as put eye services at the forefront of our personal and collective wellbeing.
“Today we commemorate World Eye Sight Day as a reminder that we should value the health of our eyes. Over one billion people in the world are living with visual-related impairments. These conditions are things that could have been prevented. In fact, 90 per cent of all blindness could have been preventable,” divulged Dr Chebet, calling on the community to seek early medical attention related to eyes to reverse such eye conditions on time.
The health director affirmed that the health facilities within the county are offering a number of essential medical services that residents should take advantage of, calling upon those who are yet to register with the Social Health Authority (SHA) to step up and enrol to benefit from health services stress-free whenever an ailment arises.
Dr Chebet utilised the event to sensitise and remind residents about the Ebola disease, which is currently a threat now that one case was detected in our country, urging them to be vigilant to report or seek medical attention in case of any symptoms suspected to be related to Ebola.
“I want to call on the community to be vigilant in identifying Ebola disease. With good management therapy on early detection of the disease, it can be managed,” observed Chebet, affirming the county’s preparedness on tackling Ebola cases in an event they arise.
Eldo Eye Hospital Nandi Hills branch director Mark Cheruiyot, on his part, observed that eyes are one of the key components of the body that should be taken seriously when it comes to eye health, adding that early intervention on eye problems is something that should be considered by everyone.
Cheruiyot pleaded with the residents to utilise such opportunities, confirming that the Eldo Eye Medical Facility had qualified staff as well as quality machines that were able to screen eyes and determine a problem early enough, calling on residents to visit their facility and gain from such services.
He further stated that currently their facility is offering a free cataract surgery service to patients, encouraging members of the public to take advantage of such services that can greatly save their eyesight, thus preventing blindness.
“Today we have screened over 200 cases with eye problems. We want to encourage the public to always seek early intervention on eye problems and ensure they are handled to prevent total blindness,” pointed Cheruiyot, lauding the partnership with the county government, adding that more residents are likely to benefit from health services.
Residents who benefitted from the colourful event lauded the county government and Eldo-Eye Health facility for such an initiative, noting that the public lacks such essential information on eye health, noting that a lack of such information and services has rendered many people blind.
They further called on health facilities to utilise such international events to offer free services to the society as well as create awareness on various ailments to ensure health problems are dealt with early, thus having a healthy society.
“I want to thank Eldo Eye and Nandi Hills County Hospital for organising this wonderful event. We have learnt much from the awareness that we received today as well as screening services and treatment of our eyes,” pointed Lydear Kabesa, one of the residents who received eye services.
By Ruth Mainye
