Mwakyusa calls for urgent measures to mitigate blindness

About 7,000 Tanzanians go blind, with one million people suffering from refractive errors and low vision annually, a trend which the government said called for urgent corrective measures.

Health and Social Welfare minister Prof. David Mwakyusa said on Wednesday that he was shocked by the situation, adding that immediate action to address the situation was needed before it reached crisis level.

The minister was speaking to reporters ahead of the World Sight Day today.

Statistics indicated that about 45 million people worldwide were suffering from blindness.

`If there are not concerted efforts to arrest the trend the problem will grow two times by the year 2020,` the minister said.

Prof Mwakyusa noted that 80 per cent of factors which led to blindness were preventable if hospitals and health centres conducted routine and thorough eye check-ups.

According to the minister, cataracts contributed to blindness by about 50 per cent, cornea 20 per cent, glaucoma 10 per cent, and others including refractive and low vision, 20 per cent.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, one per cent of people living in developing countries are blind, about 350,000 of whom are from Tanzania.

This year`s theme is `Vision for Children,` and the day would be marked at the national level in Bagamoyo, Coast Region.