The Jigawa government said it had conducted free eye surgery for 23,000 eye cataract patients in the last six years across the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Tafida Abubakar, said this while speaking with newsmen after the flag-off of the phase two of the exercise on Wednesday in Dutse.
Abubakar said that blindness caused by eye cataract in the state was high before the intervention of the present administration.
“From the research conducted, we discovered that about 44,000 people in the state were blind, due to eye cataract.
“And it is even the reason we started the programme to assist our people who cannot afford the payment of the surgery.”
He said that the programme was currently going on in five centres – Dutse, Kazaure, Gumel, Hadejia and Jahun.
He also said that the state government had provided 702 free eye glasses to students with different visual impairment.
Abubakar said that it was imperative to take such corrective measures at the early stage. (NAN)
