Optometrist seeks more funding of eye care training institutions

October 19, 2012 15:27

Audio attached

Optometrist seeks more funding of eye care training institutions

NAN-HG-2

Optometry

Lagos, Oct. 19, 2012  (NAN) An optometrist, Prof Olanrewaju Oriowo, on Friday, called on the Federal Government to ensure adequate funding of eye care training institutions in the country.

 

Oriowo, an eye specialist with Optometry and Vision Science, University of Limpopo, South Africa, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

 

He said that the call for more funding became necessary in order to facilitate training of more eye specialists in the country.

 

He also urged the government to provide incentives to eye care professionals, adding that the provision of such incentives would encourage the professionals to work in the rural areas where many people were in dire need of eye care.

 

According to him, the distribution of manpower capacity, especially in the rural areas, was not enough to attend to the needs of the people at the grassroots.

 

`` The Federal Government needs to fund, create and provide facilities for eye care in the nation’s hospitals and health centres; and to provide training institutions for the eye specialists to work. 

 

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“We are to do more outreach in the rural areas and also to conduct research; how many people have not been serviced in terms of eye care need.

 

“And to train the manpower; deploy the manpower to the rural areas; and also where there are needs for serious medical and surgical attention, to refer to such cases to an ophthalmologist. Current facilities are actually not adequate. 

 

“One, is the training of more manpower and then, conducting research on the current state of eye care service, areas of improvement, areas of deficiencies and how to improve.

 

“The government can only put more effort; investing more in training; proper distribution of the facilities; and where there are no facilities, to provide such facilities for eye healthcare and management.”

 

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The optometrist decried the dearth of information for people having eye problems to know where to go for their eye checkups, adding that there was need to educate those with eye problems.

 

Oriowo urged the professionals to identify their potentials and to provide affordable standard and quality eye care services for the masses in the society.

 

``If a professional can identify his potential, creates eye care services and not depending only on the government, he will be able to start at a basic level of eye care provision.

 

``In that case, it will reduce the burden on the government and spread it on the professionals, who will reach out to the rural population in need of eye care service.’’

 

Oriowo, an indigene of Ilesa in Osun State, said he had been nominated for the 2012 American Academy of Optometry award for his outstanding international contributions to the profession.

 

“The name of the award is called the AAO, American Academy of Optometry, which would be awarded on Oct. 26. It is actually given annually. Sometimes, it depends on when the suitable candidate is identified and selected.

 

“So, I have been selected for the one of this year. 

“It is actually an award in which nomination is made by contemporary colleagues all over the world to indicate the efforts and contributions an individual has made to the optometry profession internationally.

 

“I will continue my efforts in terms of training and increasing manpower capacity in the eye care sector.”(NAN)

EEI/MSAD

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