By Obbo Yusuf
More than 300 eye patients from Busoga East region have received free treatment at a 4-day Eye Camp at Iganga main hospital.
The four-day health camp concluded today Monday, was organized by Nile cultural and social development association in partnership with Kuwait based Al Kulaib universal company.
The eye health camp attracted patients from five districts which include: Bugiri,Iganga, Kaliro,Luuka, and Mayuge
Dr. James Janyare the in charge of eye department at Iganga main Hospital, said the eye camp registered overwhelming results.
According to Janyare majority of the patients were treated of trachoma and cataract which he said are the major eye diseases in the region. Others were treated for river blindness and childhood blindness among others.
Binywera Tella a CID officer from Jinja district exhibited gratitude to the organizers since he was seeking 2.3 million shillings to undergo an eye operation at Mulago National referral hospital which operation he received at the camp and at no cost.
Other patients who received the free treatment appreciated the organizations and Iganga hospital doctors for the recommendable work done.
According to the Dr Janyare, majority of people develop eye diseases during their advanced age as a result of poor feeding habits besides certain ailments like hypertension and diabetes. He thus urged members of the public to always improve on their diets to avoid developing eye problems at an advanced age.
The chairman of Nile cultural and social development association, Sheikh Bruhan Byekwaso said they had earlier targeted to offer treatment to over 1000 people but the number was reduced due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
The district health officer Iganga, Doctor David Muwanguzi said that majority of the eye patients are so reluctant in seeking services of health personnel until the health problem escalated. He hence urged locals to always seek services of eye specialists for checkups such that they ascertain their status when still at an early stage.
According to the ministry of health, 1.2 million people in Uganda are visually impaired through short- sightness while 250,000 of the population is totally blind.
The most common eye problem in Uganda is photo-phobia. And its major cause is being very close to the equator since it has a lot of bright light and UV radiation which affects the eyes. The same makes some people to be light sensitive hence making their work difficult in bright lit offices and on electronic devices such as laptops, computers and smartphones.
Statistics from the Health Management Information systems indicate that eye diseases are among the top ten causes of morbidity in Uganda. It is estimated that between 300,000 to 350,000 people in Uganda are blind while over 1.2 million have visual impairment.
