Eye Health : 30,000 Secondary School Students To Receive Assistance

Some 30,000 children from selected secondary schools in the West and Centre Regions will in the coming months undergo eye screening. The second phase of Bright Sight project is an initiative of the charity, Helen Keller Intl, Cameroon, in partnership with the Ministries of Secondary Education and Public Health. The project was launched in Dschang, Menoua Division of West Region on January 19, 2023 by Helen Keller International Cameroon Country Director, Dr Ismael Teta. 

61 Schools To Benefit  
For this phase, 61 secondary schools in the Centre and West Regions will receive assistance – 33 in the West and 28 in the Centre. The project is funded by Roros Foundation. “The project seeks to equip secondary school children with eye glasses through systematic screening of all children from participating schools. Our target in the West Region is about 30,000 school children. The project also has a component in the Centre Region with a similar target,” Dr Teta said.

Encouraging First Phase Results
“Bright Sight project started in 2021 with about 20,000 children screened in the Centre Region. Out of this number, about 2,000 children who were identified with refractive errors have received free eye glasses. While some of the children underwent surgery. We hope the second phase will lead to the scaling up of the eye health project to more secondary schools in Cameroon,” Dr Teta indicated. 

We Are Grateful!
According to Mrs Nguepi Marie Chantal, the Sub-director in charge of Examinations in the West Regional Delegation of Secondary Education, the launch of Bright Sight II in Menoua and Mifi Divisions is welcome, especially as many school children have challenges with their sight. “We are so grateful to Helen Keller Cameroon for extending the project to our region,” Mrs said.  

Stakeholders In Attendance    
The launch of the project saw the participation of administrative authorities, headmasters and other education and health stakeholders.. Amongst them was Prof. Epee Emilienne of the Department for the Fight against Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases in the Ministry of Public Health.

Over 20,000 Children Screened
Results from the first phase of the project implemented in the Centre Region show that 20,124 children aged 11-15 years from 27 secondary schools were screened. The prevalence of refractive error was 9.8 per cent amongst participating children. Three children who were diagnosed with cataract received 100 per cent free surgery. While 1,500 eye glasses were distributed to children with severe eye refractive problems.

Most Common Eye Issue
In Cameroon, refractive errors represent the most common eye issue among school-age children. Preliminary results from operational research carried out by Helen Keller Intl on 17,237 students aged 10-15 shows a 9.8 per cent pre...