More than 454 school children with eye problems in Uasin Gishu county have benefitted from free eyeglasses courtesy of a partnership between the County and Operation Eyesight Universal.
According to the County Acting Deputy Director of Planning and Administration, Richard Cheserek, 92% of the children who suffered from refractive eye errors received eyeglasses for free.
Cheserelk said the availing of the glasses to the students has improved learning for the beneficiaries.
“As a Department, we are working on ensuring that access to free eye surgical services is administered at our referral facilities to test, detect, and solve eye problems for children who were not necessarily aware of their problems,” said Cheserek.
The findings were reported during a meeting between the County Government and stakeholders to discuss the findings of the eye health program that was conducted across the learning institutions.
The Acting Director also noted that general vision impairment among the Uasin Gishu population stands at 7.8 percent and over, with more than 1000 people accessing eye services at Huruma Sub County Hospital.
In 2016, the Sub-County hospital launched an ultra-modern eye unit that is crucial in helping reduce cases of visual impairment and general eye health care in the region which has a high prevalence of eye disease.
The equipping of the facility was done through the collaboration of Operation Eye Sight Universal, Seeing is Believing, and the County Government of Uasin Gishu to the tune of Sh20 million.
By Kiptanui Cherono
