The federal government says it will provide 25,000 free cataract surgeries nationwide by the end of 2027 as part of efforts to reduce avoidable blindness and improve access to quality eye care.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, announced this on Thursday at the 49th Annual Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) and the African Council of Optometry (AFCO) meeting in Abuja.

Mr Salako said the surgeries would be carried out under the Renewed Hope Health Connect initiative, which aims to bring healthcare services closer to underserved communities across the country.

He said funding for the programme had already been provided in the 2025 and 2026 federal budgets, with implementation expected to begin in late October or early November this year.

“The process is already ongoing and, all things being equal, we hope to start the implementation by late October or early November this year,” he said.

Expanding primary eye care services

The minister said eye health had remained neglected for years, despite preventable visual impairment continuing to deprive millions of Nigerians of productivity, independence, economic opportunities and personal dignity.

He said President Bola Tinubu had placed deliberate emphasis on expanding primary eye care services and tackling preventable blindness through sustained investments, reforms and strengthened healthcare delivery systems.

According to him, the National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan 2024–2028 integrates eye care services across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare levels to improve early detection nationwide.

Mr Salako said the federal government had also inaugurated the Nigeria Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit to standardise diagnosis, treatment and referral protocols for glaucoma management across healthcare facilities nationwide.

He said ophthalmologists from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory had already been trained on the guidelines to facilitate effective implementation and improve patient outcomes nationwide.

He added that under the Effective Spectacle Coverage Initiative Nigeria-JigiBola 2.0, more than 2,220 primary healthcare workers across 16 states had been trained to conduct vision screening.

He said the JigiBola 2.0 initiative had screened almost two million Nigerians and provided more than 1.3 million people with free reading glasses across participating states nationwide.

According to him, approximately 66 per cent of beneficiaries received their first-ever pair of spectacles through the intervention, highlighting the significant unmet need for eye care services.

“The Jigi-Bola 2.0 is now being expanded under the Renewed Hope Health Connect to deliver at least five million free pairs of spectacles and 25,000 free cataract surgeries by the end of 2027,” he said.

Optometrists

Mr Salako described optometrists as on the front line of community eye health, emphasising that their expertise remained critical to achieving universal eye health coverage and reducing preventable blindness nationwide.

Earlier, President of the Nigerian Optometric Association, Chimeziri Anderson, said the conference was conceived to harmonise and standardise optometry education, training and practice across African countries.

Mr Anderson said the gathering would strengthen collaboration among African nations, promote the dissemination of research, and bridge differences in professional training, competencies, and regulatory frameworks across the continent.

He added that the association had partnered with organisations to facilitate free cataract surgeries, recording about 60 successful procedures during a recent outreach programme for vulnerable patients.

Also speaking, President of AFCO, Remi Ninkpe, called for a harmonised framework to guide optometry education, training and professional practice across Africa.

Mr Ninkpe said Africa had made remarkable progress in expanding optometry training, clinical services and professional recognition through collective efforts by governments, institutions and professional associations.

He, however, said that differences in curriculum, competencies and scope of practice continued to limit workforce mobility, professional integration and regional advancement across the continent.

“A harmonised, structured framework will deliver clarity of practice, workforce mobility, shared tools and one united voice for policy and advocacy,” he said.

READ ALSO: NNPC Foundation begins free cataract surgeries for 1,000 beneficiaries in Zaria

In his welcome address, the Chairman of the NOA Federal Capital Territory Chapter, Njezi Kennedy, described the conference as a landmark gathering to advance eye care across Africa.

Mr Kennedy commended the association’s leadership for strengthening professional advocacy, expanding global engagement, and successfully bringing the continental conference to Nigeria to foster wider collaboration and knowledge exchange.

He urged participants to maximise the scientific sessions, deepen professional collaboration and renew their commitment to eliminating avoidable blindness while improving eye health outcomes across Africa.

The conference, themed “Optometrists in a Changing Africa: From Diversity to Unity,” brought together eye care professionals, researchers and policymakers to discuss strategies for improving eye health services across the continent.

(NAN)

Nigeria is intensifying efforts to strengthen domestic financing for its HIV response as declining international donor support threatens decades of progress in HIV prevention, treatment and care.

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Temitope Ilori, made this known on Wednesday at the Nigeria side event during the 26th International AIDS Conference (IAS 2026) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Speaking on the theme, “Sustainability: Strengthening Resource Mobilisation for the National HIV Response in Nigeria,” Ms Ilori said the country must transition to a more resilient and self-reliant HIV programme capable of withstanding changing global economic realities.

Ms Ilori said Nigeria has recorded significant progress in tackling HIV over the past two decades through partnerships involving the federal government, development partners, civil society organisations, communities of people living with HIV and the private sector.

However, she warned that changing global economic realities and declining development assistance require the country to rethink how it finances its HIV programme.

“The future of the HIV response depends not only on scientific breakthroughs and effective interventions but also on our collective ability to build resilient, sustainable financing systems that can withstand evolving global economic realities,” she said.

She said sustainability extends beyond replacing donor funding with domestic resources.

According to her, it also requires stronger institutions, improved governance, greater efficiency, innovation and expanded partnerships to ensure available resources deliver maximum impact.

Funding pressures

Ms Ilori’s remarks come as global HIV financing faces increasing pressure.

A recent report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) showed that international donor funding for HIV programmes fell by 25 per cent in 2025, the largest single-year decline since global HIV financing began expanding.

The report attributed the drop largely to reductions in financial support from the United States, stemming from funding delays and the cancellation of several international health programmes.

The funding cuts have disrupted HIV services across several African countries, prompting governments to explore emergency funding measures and longer-term domestic financing options.

In Nigeria, PREMIUM TIMES has reported that reductions in donor support disrupted community-based HIV treatment and support programmes, raising concerns about continuity of care for people living with HIV.

To address the challenge, the federal government launched the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP) 2026–2030 in June, which seeks to transition the country’s HIV response from donor dependence to greater domestic financing and national ownership.

Turning lessons into action

As part of efforts to strengthen the national response, Ms Ilori announced that NACA would convene a post-IAS stakeholders’ engagement after the conference.

She said the meeting would review key scientific advances, policy directions and best practices emerging from IAS 2026 and adapt them to Nigeria’s HIV programme.

“We are here not merely to discuss challenges but to identify actionable solutions and forge stronger partnerships that will shape the future of Nigeria’s HIV response,” she said.

Nigeria-Brazil partnership

Also speaking, Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires to Brazil, Basil Okolo, said the renewed strategic partnership between Nigeria and Brazil presents opportunities to deepen cooperation in the health sector.

READ ALSO: Global HIV funding suffers biggest decline in decades as US cuts threaten progress, UNAIDS warns

He said recent bilateral engagements between the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to expanding collaboration through knowledge exchange, local manufacturing of health commodities, research, regulatory strengthening, and health systems innovation.

Mr Okolo said stronger partnerships among governments, development partners, academia, civil society, communities and the private sector would be critical to achieving sustainable health outcomes.

He thanked Nigeria’s partners for their continued support of the country’s HIV response and called for continued collaboration.