About 285million people are living with low vision and other visual impairment related challenges across the globe.

Of this figure, 39million are suffering permanent blindness despite that 85 percent of the visual problems are avoidable.

A Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Ilorin, Feyi Adepoju, who disclosed this in Ilorin yesterday at a special lecture and free eye care jointly organised by the Kwara State council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the state chapter of Ophthalmologists Society of Nigeria to commemorate the World Sight Day, said the figure of people with sight problems rises because of ignorance.

The programme was themed "Universal Eye Health: Call to Action: Stronger together".

Beside, the Kwara State government said yesterday that over 12000 blind victims have had their sights restored through eye care service centres in the state Civil Service Hospital, Sobi and Offa Specialist Hospitals, Omu-Aran, Patigi, Share and Ilorin General Hospitals, Shonga Comprehensive Health Centre among others.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Alhaji Mahmud Babatunde Ajeigbe, who dropped the hint, said beneficiaries of the gesture also got eye glasses either free or low cost prices.

"I want to proudly say that the state government being a responsible and responsive government has been fully involved in Vision 2020 Initiative that is, the right to sight by 2020. Kwara State government in the last 13 years had collaborated with several international organisations delivering eye care services.

"It had also established a comprehensive eye care service in the state with centres cut across the state. The state is also in active collaboration with University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.

"The services provided by these centres had availed not less than 12000 blind people who have had their sights restored over the period, while glasses have also been distributed free of cost and at low cost prices to people with visual impairment including school children, teachers, administrators and even journalists.

"Plan is also on-going to increase the capacity of this Kwara Eye Health Care Programme to serve more people and ensure qualitative service delivery to all Kwarans and neighbouring states", Ajeigbe said.

However, Adepoju also revealed that over one million people in Nigeria live with blindness, some of which are avoidable, adding that with paltry sum, some of the eye problems could be tackled.

The don stated that some people lost their sight due to ill-advise from either family members, friends or people within their neighbourhoods.

Some of the avoidable visual impairments, according to Adepoju, include cataract, glaucoma, aphakia and other corneal among others.

To avoid what she called permanent blindness, the don stressed the need for people to engage in eye check at least once a year.

She also cautioned people against applying self medication while treating sight problems, saying such idea could cause further damage.

"285 million people live worldwide with low vision and blindness. Out of this figure, 39 million are blind. Eighty percent of these visual impairments are avoidable. With little money, we can tackle this avoidable blindness. In Nigeria alone, over one million people are blind. Many of these problems are avoidable.

"We should check our eyes at least once a year. We should go to right place and get right medication, and not self medication as we experience in our society today", she said.

In his remark, the state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Suleiman Atolagbe Alege, said most of motorcycle crashes occurred as a result of visual impairment.

He said the government had provided facilities to public hospitals for members of the public to access quality health care.

Also speaking, the chairman, Kwara State chapter of Ophthalmologists Society of Nigeria, Dr Jaiyeola Adido, disclosed that over one million people live with blindness Nigeria, just as he added that the scourge is preventable if treated.

No fewer than 200 people benefited from the free eye test conducted within the premises of the Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists.