We ‘ll Pursue Right To Sight Of Deltans –Uduaghan
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State says his administration is irrevocably committed to the pursuit of the right to sight of all Deltans.
Governor Uduaghan stated this in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Health/ MTN Foundation Eyesight Restoration Intervention Scheme at Agbor, yesterday.
The governor, who was represented at the occasion by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Otumara, said the right to sight is a free gift from God, noting that it is indispensable in achieving one’s aspirations in life.
He enumerated some of the efforts of government in this regard to include the state’s First Lady, Deaconess Roli Nere Uduaghan’s fight against blindness through her various campaigns toward the cure of cataract and refractive errors of the eyes, adding that screening and treatment of eye diseases were also critical thrust of the state’s Free Rural Health Scheme.
Dr. Uduaghan also disclosed that the state Government, in 2005, inaugurated the Delta State committee for the prevention of blindness, which he said, had been working assiduously to reduce the prevalence of blindness in the state.
He said a-Five-Year Strategic Vision 2020 Eye Care Plan has since been developed in the state in line with the National Vision 2020 Strategic Plan, noting that the objective was to beef up human resources for the prevention of blindness and enhancement of infrastructure in eye care across the state.
The governor who commended the MTN Foundation, in what he described as a ‘noble initiative’ in partnering with the Delta State Government to eradicate preventable blindness, assured that his administration would honour the state’s part of the MoU on the partnership.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Ms Nonny Ugboma had said the intervention scheme was expected to provide a veritable platform for data gathering for epidemiological studies, operational research and planning of disease control.
She said it would also provide screening for cataract and other eye diseases for a minimum of 10,000 patients, carry out 2,000 cataract surgeries and give out 2,000reading glasses, as well as 2,000 packs of drugs.
She said the scheme, which has the endorsement of the Federal Ministry of Health, has already been implemented in Osun and Niger states, with Abia, Jigawa and Sokoto to follow soon.
The representative of the Commissioner for Health and Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Daniel Omodon, said that the ministry had put in place machinery to ensure a successful collaboration, through the provision of state-of-the-art mobile field hospital manned by trained personnel.
Dignitaries at the ceremony included the Commissioner for Special Duties (Millennium Development Goals), Queen Victoria Ikenchukwu; her Energy counterpart, Mr. Charles Emetulu; Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Monitoring, Dr (Mrs.). Rukevwe Ugwumba and her Education Monitoring counterpart, Pastor Rhoda Ikede, among others.
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