Stories from Issah Alhassan, Kumasi
ABOUT SIX Communities in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region have benefited from free Glaucoma Screening, undertaken by the Mama Ellen Foundation for the Blind and the Aged. The beneficiary communities include Adansi, Ohiayeya, Gyaametanhunu, Effiamoaso, Aburokyire and Abuakwa.
About 1,000 patients were screened for the disease by a competent medical team assembled by the Foundation, as part of activities marking this year’s World Glaucoma Week, which was held from March 9th to 15th, 2014.
Out of the 1,000 people who underwent screening for the eye disorder, 450 of them were suspected to have been infected with the disease and have been referred to the Obuasi Blind Mission Hospital for further attention.
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness globally, with an estimated 700,000 Ghanaians living with the disease, making the country the highest in the world. About 60,000 people are also said to have gone permanently blind, with most of the cases said to be in the rural areas across the country.
The Executive Director of the Mama Ellen Foundation, Mrs. Ellen Semenyo, said the alarming rate of the disease indicates that every Ghanaian is vulnerable.
According to her, the best way to prevent the deadly eye disorder is to go for screening so that an infection can be detected early and dealt with. She said once someone contracts the disease, it stays forever and can only be managed with drugs in one’s lifetime.
Mrs. Semenyo said her foundation had for the past five years been engaging in active awareness creation and free screening to Junior and Senior High institutions in the country.
She, however, said the foundation was limited by financial and resource constraints and therefore pleaded with organizations and philanthropists to support the noble cause in order to help eradicate
the disease.
Pix: Mrs. Ellen Semenyo, Executive Director of the Mama Ellen Foundation