Tharaka Nithi Residents Get Free Eye-Treatment As The World Marks World Sight Day
An eye specialist attending a patient at Marimanti Level Four Hospital during World Sight Day on Friday. Photo/Mwenda Njeru
By MKT Reporter
As the World marked the World Sight Day, hundreds of residents of Tharaka Nithi County received free specialists eye treatment at Marimanti Level Four Hospital in Tharaka constituency.
The devolved unit’s Health Department in collaboration with Fred Hollows Foundation, Vision Spring Foundation and Village Hopecore also issued eyeglasses and conducted surgery.
This year’s celebrations dubbed, ‘Children, love your eyes’ focused on demystifying myths regarding vision and encouraged a move towards a world where all children are free from social stigma associated with wearing spectacles or other corrective interventions for their eyes and vision.
Speaking during the exercise, Medical Health Chief Officer Mr Karani Riungu and his Public Health counterpart, Ms Rose Micheni said just like adults, children should get good eye medical care and where required wear spectacles.
They said in many cases, children suffer from eye complications without medical attention because people assume that eye problems are associated with old-age.
“We decided to mark the day here in Tharaka so that people from allover this region can benefit with free services and also inform you of specialists eye medical services which we offer in our county including surgeries,” said Mr Riungu.
Ms Micheni stated that research has clearly shown that reducing screen time and spending time outside protects children from developing short-sightedness also known as myopia.
She asked parents, caregivers and educators to guide children in taking care of their eyes by reducing scree-time.
Mr Riungu insisted on Governor Muthomi Njuki’s zeal in improving health services by not only building hospitals and employing specialists but also acquiring modern medical equipment to handle critical illnesses.
He revealed that the county government in collaboration with partners is going on with equipping eye-unit at Marimanti Level Four Hospital and has acquired a state-of-the-art surgery machine which will soon be installed.
According to a recent research, cases of blindness caused by cataracts among people aged 50 years and above in Tharaka Nithi County are on the rise with over 70 patients undergoing surgery every month.
Cataracts is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), out of one million people in developing countries like Kenya, 3000 suffer from eye cataracts and 2000 people out of one million in developed countries.
The medical officers led by Dr Grace Nduyo appealed to those with eye problems to seek treatment and not to fear operation noting that almost all who have undergone surgery for cataracts have improved sight.
Community Health Promoters and public health officers are helping identify those with eye problems in the villages and advise them to go for screening.
There are also some children born with congenital cataracts, which is a condition where the lens of the eye is cloudy instead of clear at birth, making it hard to see.
Other causes of blindness include glaucoma, age-related degeneration, diabetes and trachoma.
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