FG To Provide 25,000 Free Cataract Surgeries By 2027 — Salako

The Federal Government says it will conduct 25,000 free cataract surgeries nationwide by the end of 2027 to tackle avoidable blindness and expand access to quality eye care services.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the 49th Annual Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Optometric Association and AFCO meeting.

The conference, themed “Optometrists in a Changing Africa: From Diversity to Unity,” brought together eye care professionals and stakeholders to discuss strategies for strengthening optometry practice and eye healthcare delivery.

Salako said the surgeries would be delivered under the Renewed Hope Health Connect initiative, designed to take healthcare services closer to underserved communities and vulnerable populations across Nigeria.

He said funding had already been provided in the 2025 and 2026 federal budgets to support implementation of the programme and ensure timely delivery of planned interventions nationwide.

“The process is already ongoing and, all things being equal, we hope to start the implementation by late October or early November this year,” he said.

The minister said eye health had remained neglected for years, in spite of preventable visual impairment continuing to deprive millions of Nigerians of productivity, independence, economic opportunities and personal dignity.

He said President Bola Tinubu had placed deliberate emphasis on expanding primary eye care services and tackling preventable blindness through sustained investments, reforms and strengthened healthcare delivery systems.

According to him, the National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan 2024–2028 is integrating eye care services across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare levels to improve early detection nationwide.

Salako said the Federal Government had also inaugurated the Nigeria Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit to standardise diagnosis, treatment and referral protocols for glaucoma management across healthcare facilities nationwide.

He said ophthalmologists from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory had already been trained on the guidelines to facilitate effective implementation and improve patient outcomes nationwide.

The minister added that under the Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria-JigiBola 2.0, more than 2,220 primary healthcare workers across 16 states had been trained to conduct vision screening.

He said the JigiBola 2.0 initiative had screened almost two million Nigerians and provided more than 1.3 million people with free reading glasses across participating states nationwide.

According to him, approximately 66 per cent of beneficiaries received their first-ever pair of spectacles through the intervention, highlighting the significant unmet need for eye care services.

“The Jigi-Bola 2.0 is now being expanded under the Renewed Hope Health Connect to deliver at least five million free pairs of spectacles and 25,000 free cataract surgeries by the end of 2027,” he said.

Salako described optometrists as the frontline of community eye health, emphasising that their expertise remained critical to achieving universal eye health coverage and reducing preventable blindness nationwide.

Earlier, President of the Nigerian Optometric Association, Dr Chimeziri Anderson, said the conference was conceived to harmonise and standardise optometry education, training and practice across African countries.

He said the gathering would strengthen collaboration among African nations, promote research dissemination and bridge differences in professional training, competencies and regulatory frameworks across the continent.

“We discovered that across Africa, the programme of optometry is very diverse. We are beginning conversations on how to bridge the gap,” Anderson said.

According to Anderson, optometrists play a strategic role in identifying cataract patients and referring them for surgery, particularly among underserved populations in rural and hard-to-reach communities.

He said the association had partnered with organisations to facilitate free cataract surgeries, recording about 60 successful procedures during a recent outreach programme for vulnerable patients.

Also speaking, President of the African Council of Optometry, Dr Remi Ninkpe, called for a harmonised framework to guide optometry education, training and professional practice across Africa.

Ninkpe said Africa had made remarkable progress in expanding optometry training, clinical services and professional recognition through collective efforts by governments, institutions and professional associations.

He, however, said that differences in curriculum, competencies and scope of practice continued to limit workforce mobility, professional integration and regional advancement across the continent.

“A harmonised, structured framework will deliver clarity of practice, workforce mobility, shared tools and one united voice for policy and advocacy,” he said.

Ninkpe urged governments, development partners and industry stakeholders to invest in faculty development, clinical infrastructure, digital learning, African-led research and artificial intelligence applications for eye care.

He said Africa must position itself as a co-creator rather than a late adopter of artificial intelligence technologies shaping the future of optometry and healthcare delivery.

In his welcome address, Chairman of the NOA Federal Capital Territory Chapter, Dr Njezi Kennedy, described the conference as a landmark gathering for advancing eye care across Africa.

Kennedy commended the association’s leadership for strengthening professional advocacy, expanding global engagement and successfully bringing the continental conference to Nigeria for wider collaboration and knowledge exchange.

He urged participants to maximise the scientific sessions, deepen professional collaboration and renew their commitment to eliminating avoidable blindness while improving eye health outcomes across Africa.