UPSA commemorates World Sight Day with eye screening
The University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) has organised a free eye-screening exercise for members of the university community, including some residents around the campus as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Sight Day.
About 120 people, many of them students, teaching and non-teaching staff, were screened by specialists from Permeff Eye Care, an eye clinic at Madina for eye-related impairments such as cataract, glaucoma, corneal opacity and trachoma.
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World Sight Day is observed every second Thursday in October to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year's celebration was on the theme: "Hope in sight."
According to the World Health Organisation, about one billion people in the world had preventable vision impairment which was attributed to factors such as diabetes and trachoma, trauma to the eyes and age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma.
It also says majority of people with vision impairment are over the age of 50, but added that "vision loss can affect people of all ages".
In the case of Ghana, a recent blindness and visual impairment study conducted by the Ghana Health Service (GHS), in collaboration with other development partners between 2015 and 2017, said the prevalence of blindness in the country was 0.74 per cent which translated into more than 207,000 people being blind in the country.
The country is also ranked second in the prevalence of glaucoma in the world.
Forum
At a forum preceeding the exercise, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the UPSA, Professor Charles Barnor, bemoaned the challenges visually impaired students in Africa encountered and mentioned issues such as accessibility, stereotyping and discrimination which he said impeded their social and academic development in school.
"UPSA, therefore, places premium in ensuring that its buildings, environment and spatial design cater to the special needs of individuals who would otherwise have been disadvantaged because they are considerably impaired in their freedom of movement. The provision of ramps and lifts alongside stairs shows that we care about our brothers and sisters with challenges," he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UPSA, Professor Abednego Okoe Amartey, also said: “It is about having respect for people, believing in autonomy for all end-users and levelling the playing field by creating as much of an opportunity for a visually impaired person to explore our facilities as someone who is not physically challenged or visually impaired.
“We always think about diversity and inclusion in a very broad manner and ask ourselves how we can make our campus usable and accessible to all,” he added.
Advice
The Chief Executive Officer of Permeff Eye Care, Dr Emefa Titiati, advised people to pay special attention to the eye, given its importance.
She said it was instructive for people to have their eyes tested at least once in a year, adding that 80 per cent of all eye conditions were preventable irrespective of one’s age.
Dr Titiati further discouraged the phenomenon of self-medication, warning that it could be a catalyst for total blindness.
"When you have an eye problem, go to a clinic and get a professional to treat you. Eye problems cannot be spotted unless the eye is screened," she said.