Africa-Press – Uganda. The Ministry of Health permanent secretary, Dr Diana Atwine, has disagreed with the idea of calling cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens resulting in blurry vision, as a form of disability.
Dr Atwine made the remarks yesterday at the Ministry of Health offices while receiving donated eye equipment worth 100,000 Euros (about Shs400million), from Light for the World, a global disability and development organisation.
“The way they categorised this disease, cataracts, here in the structure of the Ministry of Health, that it lies under disability is something I don’t agree with,” Dr Atwine said.
She added: “Ophthalmology (a field which deals in the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders) are looked at as second services, yet, the eyes are an important part of the body. This (field) should not be classified under the department of disability.”
The eye equipment comprised 15 ophthalmoscopes and 15 cataract kits which will be distributed in Jinja, Mbale, Lira, Gulu, Arua, Hoima, Kikuube, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Kabale, Masaka, Soroti and Mulago regional referral hospitals and Entebbe General Hospital.
A 2021 World Health Organisation (WHO) report explains that the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness are uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts, with the majority of affected people being over the age of 50 years.
Cataracts can be corrected through surgery whereby the clouded lens is removed and replaced with a clear artificial lens.
However, with very few ophthalmology specialists in the country, Dr Atwine said there is need for funding to prioritise specialised eye training.
Challenges
Dr Stanley Bubikire, an assistant commissioner of health services who also heads the disability and rehabilitation division at the Health ministry, said there are about 50 ophthalmologists (specialists in eye and vision care) in the country.
“The biggest challenges in eye care treatment include human resource gaps and funding. The equipment (used in eye diagnosis and treatment) look very small but are very expensive to acquire,” Dr Bubikire said.
Mr Silvester Kasozi, the country director of Light for the World, said the donation will help people have equitable and inclusive access to quality eye health services, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These (donated) equipment have been designed in such a way they limit contact between the eye specialists and patients, hence, limiting the spread of Covid-19,” Mr Kasozi said.
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