The Christian Blind Mission (CBM), a global NGO focused on preventing avoidable blindness, has invested 15 million Euros (about N25 billion) to strengthen eye care services in 14 states across Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Dr Rainer Brockhaus, CBM Chief Executive Officer, on Thursday in Abuja during the launch of the CBM SightQuest Nigeria Programme, themed “A Journey Towards Inclusive Eye Health.”
The initiative aims to tackle preventable blindness and visual impairment, focusing on cataract surgeries, refractive error services, and expanded access for vulnerable communities.
What CBM said
According to Dr Rainer Brockhaus, CBM CEO, the SightQuest Nigeria Programme will run from January 2026 to 2035 across Bauchi, Imo, Jigawa, Plateau, Oyo, and nine other states nationwide.
He said the initiative is part of its century-long mission to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.
- “Avoidable blindness and refractive errors are two critical public health challenges affecting millions of Nigerians,” he said.
- “The programme will deliver measurable results that can reduce the burden of blindness in target states,” he added.
- The initiative comes as visual impairment remains a critical public health challenge in Nigeria, affecting millions and undermining productivity and social inclusion, and is set to deliver long-term impact over a 10-year period through both preventive and corrective eye care.
- The programme also targets a 30% increase in effective Cataract Surgical Coverage in 10 states by 2030.
More insights
The launch event featured senior government officials, including the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, who said that SightQuest goes beyond health intervention, highlighting systemic gaps in addressing preventable blindness.
- Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to reducing avoidable vision loss, noting plans to provide free cataract surgeries for 25,000 Nigerians by the end of 2026.
- CBM Country Director, Samuel Omoi, called on government agencies, partners, and professional associations to support the programme to achieve its goal of eliminating avoidable blindness in the targeted states.
What you should know
The federal government announced plans to build an eye care hospital in partnership with the Lions Club International, with a budget of N3.5 billion.
The project includes a diabetes and cancer research center, aiming to improve access to high-quality health services for vulnerable populations.
- According to the most recent National Blindness and Low Vision Survey, an estimated 1,130,000 adults aged 40 and above were blind in Nigeria.
- The North-West geopolitical zone accounted for the largest share of blind adults at 28.6 per cent, reflecting both population size and regional prevalence.
- The survey also estimated that 2,700,000 adults had moderate visual impairment and 400,000 were severely visually impaired, bringing the total number of visually impaired or blind adults in Nigeria to approximately 4.25 million.
These figures highlight the urgent need for expanded eye care services, cataract surgeries, and refractive error treatments to reduce preventable blindness.
