Lagos: Some beneficiaries at the ongoing free cataract extraction surgeries sponsored by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. Foundation have commended the initiative. The beneficiaries spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria at the Gbagada General Hospital, a center for some of the free surgeries in Lagos state.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the program, with the theme 'Blindness can be avoided', is initiated by the foundation to offer free cataract extraction surgeries to 1,000 beneficiaries in the South-West. Cataract is a cloudy area in the eye's lens that can cause blurred or cloudy vision and is a common cause of blindness and visual impairment. The World Health Organisation states that cataracts affect approximately 65.2 million people and cause moderate to severe vision loss in over 80 percent of cases.
Mr. Raheem Ajani, a septuagenarian, described the free cataract surgery as a relief to him. Ajani noted that all efforts to raise money to undergo surgery to improve his sight in the last two years did not yield any result. "I have been having problems with my eye for the past three years and I have not been able to go for surgery because I was asked to bring N250,000 at the hospital. What NNPC Foundation has done has brought relief to me and many others who can't afford the surgery," he said.
Mrs. Fatimah Lawal, 57, a trader who also benefited from the surgery, expressed her gratitude to the organization sponsoring the program with the aim to restore the sights of beneficiaries. "I'm happy to be among the people who benefitted from this free surgery. I'm a petty trader. It will take me a long time to gather money for a surgery like this. We were also given drugs and asked to come back for post-surgery evaluation. This is a commendable gesture from NNPC to Nigerians," she said.
Mr. Stephen Mbanefo, a trader at the popular Trade Fair Market in Lagos, told NAN that he got a hint of the program from his children and decided to take advantage of it. "At first, when my daughter told me about the free cataract surgeries, I thought we will still pay a certain amount. But, everything has been free, from screening to surgery," he said.
NAN reports that residents from different parts of Lagos who were early screened at Ikeja and Itire-Ikate turned out in large numbers to undergo the surgery. An official of NNPC who spoke to NAN said over 400 surgeries had been done in Ogun, adding that Lagos would make up the target for 1,000 beneficiaries.