The First Lady of Ebonyi State, Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru, and Ebonyi State Health insurance Agency have flagged off free eye care services for all monarchs across the state, numbering over 120.
The eye care services incorporate free screening, drug administration, issuance of eye glasses and eye surgery where necessary.
It also includes free enrollment of the royal fathers into the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Scheme.
It was sponsored by the Office of the Governor’s Wife through her foundation, Better Health for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Persons.
The event was flagged off on Monday at the Ebonyi Women Development Centre, Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
Declaring it open, the Ebonyi State First Lady said the exercise defined the present administration’s commitment to the wellbeing of the people of the state, especially the elders, adding that it was part of her investment in the future.
Nwifuru described it as fitting for the royal fathers who are the grassroots leaders to be healthy so as to be able to administer sound leadership in their domains.
She said: “As the grand ambassador of health insurance in the state and the founder of Better Health for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Persons Foundation, I am very passionate about accessible and quality healthcare for all.
“This event is put in place to address one of the most critical but often overlooked areas of health, which is eye care.
“Let us remember that health is wealth and when our leaders are healthy, our communities are stronger, more united, and more peaceful.
“May this initiative be the beginning of many more impactful health interventions and may or efforts continue to touch lives across every corner of Ebonyi State.”
The First Lady appreciated her husband, Governor Francis Nwifuru, for his various health interventions in the state, describing him as a health-friendly governor, and pledged the continued support of his foundation to his laudable programmes.
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Speaking to newsmen, the Executive Secretary, Ebonyi State Health insurance Agency, Dr. Divine Igwe, stated that eye problems were becoming the leading ailment, not only in Nigeria, but worldwide, ravaging people from above 40 years.
He noted that the free eye service was part of interventions of EBSHIA and BERWO to curtail the preponderance of cataract and other eye diseases, starting from the royal fathers in the state.
The Executive Secretary added that the exercise was informed by the discovery during a collaborative eye screening with NMPC recently in the state.
Igwe said: “Last week, we harvested about 486 individuals in Ebonyi State that have cataract, out of which 200 are already doing their surgeries in various facilities in the state.
“It is based on this that we decided to expand the efforts, starting from our traditional rulers.
“This is intended to curtail eye problems in Ebonyi State.
“Eye problems can develop as a result of aging, other underlying ailments like diabetes, hypertension, or as a result of infection.
“There are other kinds of eye problems that are genetic such as glaucoma.
“Regular eye checks and screening can help in preventing eye diseases.”
The ES further explained that the Agency with its partner have plans to extend the eye services beyond the traditional rulers and called on well-to-do individuals and philanthropists to sponsor enrollment of other persons to the state health insurance scheme to enable them access free eye care and other health services.
Wife of the Chief of Staff to the Governor and Team Lead, BERWO, Professor Nkechi Emma Echiegu, while enumerating the many interventions done by the foundation in collaboration with EBSHIA in several areas of healthcare and general welfare, said it has sponsored free scrotal hernia surgeries for over 100 persons, enrolled about 3,000 pregnant women for free healthcare services as well as free treatment for sickle cell patients among others.
Describing the traditional rulers as gatekeepers at the grassroots, Echiegu lauded the initiative as worthwhile.
Some of the traditional rulers, including the Chairman, Ebonyi State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Charles Mkpuma; Ezeogo Patrick Oko Agha from Afikpo; Eze Sunday Oketa; and Eze Aloh Boniface Nkashi Nwokeocha from Ebonyi and Abakaliki local government areas respectively, commended the wife of the Governor and EBSHIA for the initiative which they described as both apt and significant.
They also appreciated Governor Nwifuru for numerous other interventions in their favour and prayed to God to continue to guide and reward them through their various endeavours.
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