The current data from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) shows that 254,412 people across Ghana are blind.
According to the Eye Care Unit of GHS, this figure represents about one in every 135 people across Ghana's population of 34.38 million, with more than half of all blindness traceable to a single cause that can be treated.
The data shows that 54.8 per cent of all blindness is caused by cataract, which is reversible with surgery, while glaucoma accounts for 19.4 per cent.
Posterior segment disease accounts for 12.9 per cent, cornea opacity 11.2 per cent, and other causes 2.1 per cent. Combined, cataract and glaucoma account for 73.9 per cent of blindness cases.
The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the country are uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts. However, cost-effective interventions are available to address these causes and can help restore and preserve vision.
The Ghana Health Service has therefore called on all Ghanaians to have their eyes checked regularly.
The Service advised the public to book a comprehensive eye exam without waiting for symptoms, take a relative for cataract screening, and get glaucoma checked early since its vision loss cannot be reversed. It noted that early detection is what turns "permanent" into "preventable."
This World Sight Day, the Service is calling on everyone to have their eyes checked regularly and to visit the nearest health facility if they experience blurred or reduced vision, eye pain, or any other changes in their vision.
Early detection and timely treatment can help prevent avoidable vision loss.
