World Glaucoma Week launched

The Glaucoma Association of Ghana (GAG) is calling for tax waiver on glaucoma drugs and equipment in the country.

As it stands now, the tax on glaucoma drugs and equipment is about 53 per cent, a situation the association said largely prevented a lot of patients from accessing good health care and eye screening.

The President of the GAG, Mr Harrison K. Abutiate, who expressed the concern, stated that failure by the government to heed the calls immediately could result in a surge of the prevalence rate of the disease in the country.

According to statistics from ophthalmologists and health experts, the prevalence rate of glaucoma in the country currently stands at 1.2 million with half of this number not aware that they do have the disease.

Launch of World Glaucoma week

Mr Abutiate made the remarks at the launch of this year’s World Glaucoma Week in Accra last Wednesday.

The theme for this year is “Beat Invisible Glaucoma (B-I-G).” In view of this, series of events, including free public screening, radio and television talk shows and sensitisation programmes have been earmarked for the celebration.

The 2016 celebration is sponsored by Robert and Sons Limited Opticals, Paracelsus Pharmacy and Marketing Company Limited, Gocals Labores Limited and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Alhaji Ahmed Sorogho.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterised by increased intra-ocular pressure resulting in the damage of the optic and retinal nerve fibres which send visual signals to the brain leading to loss of visual function.

Untreated glaucoma gradually results in blindness because of the irreversible damage it causes. It is the number one cause of irreversible blindness in the world, and cannot be cured.

Support from institutions

Mr Abutiate also called on corporate bodies to assist in providing funds to support the activities of the association.

“There is the need for us to constantly provide eye screening for market women, farmers, fishermen, driver unions, churches among other groups, hence we need the support of all to carry out this,” he said.

Government would assist

In his address, the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, stated that the government would do its best to assist the association and all patients suffering from glaucoma.

Such interventions, he said, could be the rolling of the disease onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to lessen the burden on patients.

That, according to him, could also reduce the prevalence rate of the disease, since that could give a lot of Ghanaians the opportunity to report to the health centres whenever they encountered the disease.