KENYA— The Sabatia Eye Hospital in Vihiga, Kenya has opened the Sabatia Paediatric Ophthalmology Centre and the Sabatia Eye training centre to address the specific eye care needs of children in the Western region.
The groundbreaking was presided over by the Prime Cabinet Secretary H.E. Musalia Mudavadi and Cabinet Secretary for Health Nakhumicha S. Wafula.
The 27-year-old Sabatia Eye Hospital is a not-for-profit and independent referral eye hospital based in the western part of Kenya.
It is one of the few tertiary eye hospitals located in rural Kenya and serves an estimated 15 million people.
The hospital also undertakes outreach campaigns through partnerships and diverse collaborative arrangements.
Significantly, the Paediatric Ophthalmology Centre and The Sabatia Eye Training Centre aim at enhancing eye healthcare services, especially addressing paediatric visual impairment in the underserved region.
The hospital notes that by recognizing the unique requirements and sensitivities of young patients, the centre has been thoughtfully designed to create a safe and child-friendly environment.
By offering specialized care, timely interventions, and cutting-edge treatments, the centre aspires to improve the overall eye health and quality of life for countless young patients.
Subsequently, to improve the overall services at the eye centre and the region’s eye health care sector, the Sabatia Eye Training Centre has also been established.
The hospital reiterated that the pressing need for more eye specialists to address various eye conditions prompted the creation of this training centre.
Furthermore, its mission is to increase the pool of qualified professionals who possess the expertise to diagnose, treat, and prevent blindness effectively.
According to a statement by the ministry, the centre has been specifically designed to create a safe and child-friendly environment, ensuring that young patients feel comfortable and at ease during their visits.
“The Paediatric Ophthalmology Centre has a primary focus on providing accessible and affordable eye care services to children in Western Kenya and the surrounding areas,” the ministry said.
The Ministry of Health noted that through comprehensive training programs and hands-on experience, the Sabatia Eye Training Centre aims to empower eye specialists with the necessary skills and knowledge to make a lasting impact.
Paediatric Visual Impairment in Africa
The British Journal of Ophthalmology estimates that globally there are around 19 million visually impaired children worldwide.
Specifically, 1.4 million children are blind, and 17.5 million children have low vision and most of them are found in developing nations.
Global initiative for avoidable blindness reported that the major barrier to accessing paediatric eye care in Africa was the unavailability of primary eye health services.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that most paediatric visual impairment (VI) is treatable by early intervention at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
Vitally, of concern to the WHO is that paediatric VI has a significant negative impact on the lifespan of the child with an estimated 60% of children dying within one year of becoming blind.
Nonetheless, paediatric eye care services in most African countries are inadequate in terms of facilities, equipment, resources, and skilled professionals.
For instance, The African Child Policy Forum reports that there are only 26 paediatric eye-care centres in sub-Saharan African countries serving 787 million with a ratio of one paediatric eye-care centre for 30.3 million children.
Additionally, the available workforce in the African continent is reported to be inadequate and most countries have far less than the optometrist to population required as per the guidelines of the WHO.
Moreover, the International Council of Ophthalmologists indicated that two-thirds of all ophthalmologists worldwide are from high-income countries while the rest of the world shares the remaining, resulting in inadequate paediatric eye care providers in African countries.
WHO’s VISION 2020, right to sight global strategy notes that new impactful tact is needed to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the key stakeholders and could play a crucial role in addressing these barriers to child eye care in African countries.
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