Health records show that glaucoma has affected an estimated 60.5 million people worldwide, with about 87% of these cases found in developing countries.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako who gave this scary statistics, even warned that every Nigerian adult may be at risk of glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness due to the country’s African ancestry.
The junior Minister was addressing a News conference in Abuja on Monday to mark the 2025 World Glaucoma Week with the theme, “Uniting for a Glaucoma-Free World: See the Future Clearly.”
Glaucoma, the second most common cause of blindness globally, is a progressive and irreversible disease that damages the optic nerve.
Glaucoma initially causes peripheral vision loss and, in advanced stages, leads to complete blindness.
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Citing data from the Nigerian Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey 2005-2007, the Minister of State noted that over 4.2% of Nigeria’s population was blind, with glaucoma responsible for 16.7% of these cases.
In his address delivered by the Director of Port Health Services, Akpan Nse, the Minister highlighted the government’s commitment to tackling the disease and emphasized that the Ministry recently developed and launched the National Glaucoma Screening and Treatment Guidelines to provide clinical and programmatic direction for glaucoma screening and management.
Health experts have continued to emphasize the importance of early detection and regular eye screenings, particularly for individuals with a family history of glaucoma.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
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