Nicholas azinge tasks business organisations:plough back into your host communities.

The State Commissioner for Health,Dr. Nicholas Azinge has called on business organizations doing business in any part of the State to make deliberate efforts to plough back to society through corporate social responsibility activities.

The State Commissioner for Health,Dr. Nicholas Azinge made this call yesterday during the celebration of the 2017 World Sight Day held at the Primary Health Care Centre,Ellu,Isoko South Local Government Area organized by the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with SEPLAT.The Commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Health,Dr.(Mrs.) Minnie Oseji commended SEPLAT for organizing the free eye screening,and other free eye care including surgery for residents of Ellu community and its environs.

He said the World Sight Day is a special annual day of awareness that is celebrated around the world each year in order to focus on blindness and vision impairment created by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the International Agency for the Prevention of blindness.

Dr.Azinge explained that other measures which the State Government has made to curb the issue of blindness and other related eye issues in the state include recruitment of several eye health personnel such as ophthalmologists, optometrists,ophthalmic nurses and opticians to provide eye care services.He said the Delta State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme which is being scaled up to provide health for all Deltans will reduce quackery and expand treatment for diseases such as hypertension and diabetes which are two major causes of blindness.

Speaking further,he said that through the efforts of the State Hospitals Management Board’s Branch of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria,out-station Consultation is being carried out by Consultants including ophthalmologists from Zonal Hospitals at unit hospital, which not only provides services but on-the-job training of health workers as well.

Commissioner Azinge revealed that the Ministry is piloting a School Health Programme in Oshimili South LGA this year which involves free medical examination including visual screening of new school intakes of Primary Schools saying this will help to detect those who have visual impairment early so that appropriate treatment can be given.The school health programme hopefully will be scaled up to other LGAs next year.

The Commissioner used the celebration with the theme “make vision count” to advice Deltans and residents alike to as a matter of importance take care of their eyes by avoiding putting substances in their eyes without prescription from the Ophthalmologist and also have regular eye checkup from qualified eye health personnel.