By Philip Tengzu, GNA
Guli, (UW/R), June 17, GNA – Pognaa Fuseina Darimani, the Queenmother of Guli in the Wala Traditional Council, has urged parents and guardians to take an active interest in health screening exercises involving their children to ensure effective treatment and follow-up care when necessary.
She said that was because children might not fully understand or remember instructions on medication use or follow-up care.
Pognaa Darimani said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Guli during a free eye screening and care exercise, which recorded low parental participation.
The screening exercise was organised by Bliss Eye Care in partnership with Ghana Vision, a Swiss-based charity organisation, under the “Blissful Sight for Kids” initiative, for schoolchildren in Guli and surrounding communities, including Kperisi, Chegli, Sagu and Konjiehi.
The intervention, which sought to improve children’s holistic development and educational outcomes through enhanced eye health, was held under the theme: “Bright Future Starts with Clear Vision”.
A total of 391 children from Guli participated in the screening exercise, of whom 57 had normal eyesight, and 321 had pathological conditions requiring medication.
Also, six were diagnosed with refractive errors requiring corrective lenses, while seven cases of cataract and glaucoma were identified.
“It is always better to start caring for your eyes before problems develop”, Pognaa Darimani said, and encouraged parents and guardians to take advantage of such screening opportunities to support their children’s eye health.
She commended Bliss Eye Care and its partners for bringing the intervention to the communities and appealed for sustained support to improve child health and education.
Dr. Zakarea Al-Hassan Balure, Superintendent of Bliss Eye Care, described the exercise as largely successful despite recording low turnout compared to previous screening exercises in the municipality, which recorded over a thousand participants.
“Some schools we expected to participate did not turn up. The reasons are not yet clear, but we are still happy that the children who came were screened and received the needed attention”, he said.
Dr. Balure said the screening detected common conditions such as allergic conjunctivitis, conjunctivitis and refractive errors, as well as a few trauma-related cases.
He cited the case of a school child who sustained a severe eye injury, which resulted in inflammation of the eye and said the necessary initial care was provided and referred the child to the health facility here in the community for further management.
He expressed concern that some children from the other communities, who might have needed eye care, missed the opportunity because they were unable to participate in the screening.
Mr Sebastien Amu, Special Education Coordinator at the Wa Municipal Education Directorate, appealed to parents to prioritise their children’s health by ensuring they attend such programmes promptly and with adequate support.
“Parents are key stakeholders in the health and education of their children and must encourage them to take advantage of these opportunities”, he said.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Philip Tengzu, GNA
[email protected]