Ophthalmologists call for more Glaucoma medications on the NHIS
KUMASI, 10th March, (Futball Surgery)– The Ophthalmological Society of Ghana (OSG) has called for the inclusion of more glaucoma medications on the National Health Insurance Scheme.
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The Ophthalmological Society of Ghana (OSG) has called for the inclusion of more glaucoma medications on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
It said it would ensure the availability of more effective medications to save the many Ghanaian glaucoma patients from going blind because they could not afford drugs on the open market.
Dr Dzifa Bella Ofori-Adjei, President of the OSG, who was speaking at the 2022 launch of the World Glaucoma week in Accra on Wednesday, said medical treatment for Glaucoma, though widely available in the country, was still out of the reach of many as only a few medications are on the NHIS.
“Glaucoma is a salient disease, and we are all at risk, this is the time for us to work together to put in appropriate interventions to delay or prevent blindness,” she said.
She said Glaucoma remained the leading cause of irreversible blindness as 76 million people across the globe had glaucoma and 11 million went blind due to glaucoma in 2020, a situation which was expected to rise to 112 million by 2040.
Presently in Ghana, Glaucoma affects about 500,000 people aged 40 years and above and accounts for blindness in about 45,000 people.
Dr Ofori-Adjei advised the public to get their eyes screened for Glaucoma at least once in a year.
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damages the optic nerve, the damage is often caused by an abnormally high pressure in the eye that damaged the eye’s optic nerve, the nerve that transferred visual information from the retina to the brain.
Some known risk factors of glaucoma are ageing, diabetes, dark skin, family history and myopia (short-sightedness).
Dr Ofori-Adjei said the only way to prevent glaucoma was to go for regular eye screening to ensure early detection and treatment.
“When the condition is diagnosed in its early stages, it can be managed effectively to prevent blindness. However, people living with the condition will have to be on strict medication for life,” she said.
She said research titled “Eyes of Africa: The genetics of blindness” a research into Glaucoma has begun in Ghana at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
The research according to the OSG president seeks to find genes associated with Glaucoma in Africans that were different from the whites to help develop newer treatments for glaucoma patients.
The study involves taking a small amount of blood for detailed eye examinations and a full complement of eye investigations at no cost.
Dr Ofori-Adjei encouraged the public to book appointments and join the test.
