Government plans to train more eye specialist ahead of World Sight Day

The ministry of Health has announced that government plans to train more eye specialists ahead of the World Sight Day.

While addressing the media on Monday in Kampala ,the permanent secretary in the ministry of Health Dr. Diana Atwine urged parents to take their children for immunisation since some of the immunisable diseases are linked to the blindness of eye cataracts.

She noted that early immunisation will help children from contracting related conditions which lead to eye diseases.

"So if we immunise our children, we will be able to prevent these complications from advancing to cause blindness,"he said.

She also urged the public to refrain from getting non communicable diseases which can lead to loss of sight.

"The other thing, we have been talking about is non communicable diseases. The best way is to avoid the diseases that predispose you to loss of sight,"she said.

Dr. Stanley Bubikire, Assistant Communication in the ministry of Health noted that over 80% of the districts have middle level eye workers.

"We are glad to report that more than 80% of our districts have the middle level of eye health workers whereas enrolment used to be poorer for these courses in the universities, recently last two or three years the enrolment is encouraging," he noted.

He said they endeavoured to start a degree in optometry a four year course at Makerere University and the dean of the school is from the ministry of Health.

"I want to say that the course has been going on for the last four and half years and the first graduates finished last year. The annual enrolment has continued to increase. We started when we were five eventually the enrolment is reaching over 20,"he noted.