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Rukayya sees her grandson for the first time. Kaduna State Eye Care Programme, Nigeria, Jenny Matthews / Sightsavers International
Kaduna State
Kaduna state in Northern Nigeria, home to 6 million people, moves closer to a sustainable eye care service because of the generosity of our supporters.
Sightsavers has been working in Nigeria since the 1960s. We started with blindness prevention programmes, like Mectizan distribution, which has allowed us to create a network that reaches into rural Nigeria - right to the people who can least afford a bus fare to the nearest hospital, let alone the price of any treatment. Now that we have established connections with rural communities, we set about building an eye care service that suits.
Our work in Kaduna State, a rural region in Northern Nigeria, is a great example of this. This region has little or no infrastructure to tackle preventable blindness. One of the most pressing needs in Kaduna State is for more cataract surgery. Poor transport links and the poverty of the people mean that thousands of people don't receive the eye care they need. We know there are around 30,000 people in Kaduna suffering with cataracts, the majority of which can be treated with a simple operation.
In 2008 Sightsavers sent out an appeal to our donors asking them to support our work in Kaduna State. I am delighted to tell you that since 2009 we have screened and successfully treated 11,620 people. We have performed 1,574 cataract surgeries, provided over 1,000 pairs of glasses and acquired much of the equipment needed to continue this work. This would not have been achievable without the kindness of our Irish supporters.
Two optometrists, one ophthalmologist and ophthalmic nurse have been trained to work in Kaduna and another two ophthalmic nurses are currently in training. Once these students are fully trained and in their posts, we believe cataract surgery will be accessible to at least 80% of the population of Kaduna.
Who are benefiting from this work?
The impact of sight restoration is life transforming. Children can get an education because they can now see the blackboard. Parents can now support their families because there sight allows them to work. Grandparents can now enjoy their twilight years and see their grandchildren grow. In a part of the world where being blind can result in even deeper poverty, this work has not only facilitated many people in Kaduna state to see their world, but to survive in it.
What is our eventual aim?
Eventually, once the project is sustainable, we aim to pull out altogether and then use our learnings in Kaduna to do it all again somewhere else.
