By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, Oct. 23, GNA – Dr. Mahama Asei Seini, a Deputy Minister of Health has admonished Ghanaians to seek professional eye care services, whenever they developed eye- related problems to guard against blindness.
“There is no substitute for the eye. If you are blind, you are blind”, he said, when addressing the opening session of the 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ghana Optometric Association (GOA), held in Sunyani.
The three-day meeting is on the theme, “Eye Care for All by 2030: Harnessing the Optometry Potential in Ghana”.
Dr. Seini said it was necessary for everybody to take good care of his/her eye, as the government prioritised eye care to ensure access of quality eye care services by Ghanaians.
He directed the Association to intensify public education on eye-related problems, particularly glaucoma, which he added was recording high figures in the country.
Dr. Seini also commended the Association for its efforts in ensuring that quality and prompt eye care services were brought to the doorstep of the people and assured the government would also continue to support the Association in the implementation of policies and programmes and all its activities.
“The government is committed to ensuring that Ghanaians access quality eye care services and I encouraged you to also do your best to provide such services”, he added.
Superintendent Dr. Ninkpe Remi, the out-going President of the Association said the GOA had bounced back unto the international optometry platform in their last four years, saying Ghana was now the Secretary-General of the entire African Optometry Community.
He urged the Association to safeguard its reputation and decency on the professional stage, saying, “the good people of Ghana will not smile on us if we fail to make them see well but rather neglect their sight needs and concentrate on our parochial professional differences.”
Dr. Remi also called on the Ghana Health Service eye care secretariat to do its best in making “this union of inter professional practice work well for our mutual benefits.”
GNA