In commemoration of the 2016 World Glaucoma Week, the Guinness Eye Centre of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) is set to provide free glaucoma screening to the public from March 8.
A statement signed by the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Kelechi Otuneme, said that the screening will be from 9a.m. to 3p.m. on March 8 and March 9 at the Guinness Eye Centre, LUTH, Idi-Araba, Lagos.
A website, www.glaucoma.org, defined glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness, as a complicated eye disease which, after damaging the optic nerve, leads to a progressive and an irreversible vision loss.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Glaucoma Week is a joint-initiative between the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association.
It is commemorated annually to boost awareness about glaucoma and this year’s celebration is from March 6 to March 12.
The statement said that the theme for this year is: “B-I-G – Beat Invisible Glaucoma”.
It said, “This programme is part of the hospital’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) and is geared toward helping to raise awareness on glaucoma which is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.
“The general public is, hereby, invited to take part in this free exercise as an early detection is one of the preventive measures to prevent blindness usually caused by the disease,” it said.
NAN also reports that glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness for people over 60 years. (NAN)