The Chief Medical Director of Eye Foundation Hospital Group, Dr. Adekunle Hassan, has said the rationale behind the endowment of N1billion to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) for twin projects – Kunle Hassan Eye Foundation Academy (KHEFA) and International Institute of Eye Health – is to bridge the manpower deficit in the nation’s eye healthcare sector.
Hassan, a renowned Consultant Opthalmic Surgeon, who expressed concerns that over over 4 to 6 million Nigerians were grappling with different kinds of eye challenges, also lamented that the country’s eye doctor – patient ratio, stands at one doctor per 15,000 patients.
He disclosed this at the OOUTH Sagamu campus of the university after performing the foundation laying ceremony/sod turning for the institute, said that the N1billion projects for the over 40 – year – old state – owned university would train students up to PhD level to supply the middle technical manpower badly needed in eye healthcare, especially in remote areas of the country.
He said: “The Institute will train students in B Sc, Masters and up to PhD level in eye health and will use the teaching hospital and other eye training centers across the country. Our vision is to provide middle technical manpower that could be deployed to help improve on eye health in the country
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“Over 4 to 6 million Nigerians are battling different kinds of eye challenges in the country and most of them are preventable like cataract, glaucoma, infection of the eyes among others.
“And there is only one eye doctor to about 500,000 whereas the recommendation is one eye doctor to 15,0000, so we have a lot to cover.
“That is one of the reasons behind funding this institute, when you trained a lot of middle technical manpower, with technology, they can be empowered to go to the villages and rural areas and through telemedicine relate it to a centre like this institute to know what to do.
“So, we are building a sort of team that could penetrate our communities to reduce the burden of blindness in the country. You know that when someone is blind, it doesn’t affect the person alone, you have to get someone to lead the person around, the cost of blindness is huge.
“When we curb blindness, it impact on productivity and general prosperity of the country. It is for this purpose that we are encouraging public private partnership to complement whatever the government is doing to ensure that people’s access to qualitative eye healthcare is greatly improved upon.”
University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, commended Surgeon Hassan, describing him as a man of vision that proposed a N1billion endowment to OOU and backed it with payment of the money in full into the bank.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, OOU, Professor Oluwatoyin Ashiru, said the KHEFA Professorial Chair Endowment and the KHEFA International Institute of Eye Health went beyond infrastructure, stressing that they would advance ophthalmic research, expand specialist training, and deliver world-class eye care in Nigeria and beyond.
