The President of the association, Dr Ozy Okonokhua, made the call on Thursday at the opening of the 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference of the Association in Calabar.
Okonokhua said that the Federal Government can reduce blindness and visual impairment by integrating optometry services into primary healthcare.
The theme of the AGM was “Achieving Universal Access to Eye Health: The Way Forward”.
According to him, the integration will greatly reduce the disease burden at the community level to the barest minimum.
He explained that the “optometrist is the best trained primary eye care provider that the eye care team can boast of.”
He said that the conference was a medium for the group to forge the bond with the Federal Government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to engender an atmosphere conducive for the total delivery of quality and affordable eye care services.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to design policies and programmes that will make the utilisation of the existing human resources for health a priority.
“As government is pursuing the agenda of Universal Health Coverage and the integration of eye health into primary healthcare, governments should take advantage of the already existing human resources for eye health in driving this initiative.
“The disease burden of eye care in Nigeria is such that no meaningful development can be made within the economy except conscious, deliberate and concerted effort is produced to drastically reduce the burden to acceptable levels.
“We have reached out to major stakeholders to provide enhanced access to equipment for Optometrists, and taken the initiative of primary eye care at the primary healthcare centres and cottage hospitals very seriously,” he said.
Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River, who was represented by Dr Joseph Bassey, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, described the AGM as “apt and timely”.
Ayade said that for over 10 years now, the state has been offering free cataract services to residents in the state in line with the commitment to achieving universal eye health coverage.
He charged the association to do their best in providing affordable and quality eye care services to residents in rural areas across the country.
Speaking, Prof. Ebele Bridget-Uzodike, Registrar of the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board, said it was a duty of optometrists to provide a range of diagnostic required by patients.
She said that achieving universal access to health is ensuring that all people have access to needed promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative eye health services.
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