Hundreds of members of the Cedar Mountain Chapel at East
Legon in Accra have benefitted from glaucoma screening over the weekend.
The screening, which was carried out by very experienced optometrist
from Boayen Sight Savers, Ghana also served as a platform to create glaucoma
awareness among patrons, Dr George Acheampong, Director of Boayen Sight Savers,
has explained.
In all, over 100 members of the church and their associates were screened and educated on glaucoma, its signs and symptoms, as well as causes and management.
Several procedures were carried out for patrons including
the procedure to tell the extent to which their eyes can see.
The optometrists also assessed the back of the eyes of
participants, specifically their conjunctiva, sclera, cornea, iris, crystalline
lens and retina to check the possible presence of glaucoma.
Subsequently, refraction was done to generate spectacle
prescription for those with refractive errors even though that was not primary
focus of the weekend’s activity.
After the examination, when an individual is found to have a suspicious disc, they are separated for special care.
Mr Wisdom Bout who received the team at Cedar Mountain for
the screening exercise was grateful to the team and promised them of a more
frequent engagement.
Dr Acheampong explained that glaucoma was an eye disease
that causes blindness with a frequency that is second only to blindness caused
by cataracts.
Early detection of the condition is critical to prevent
irreversible blindness in those affected.
Ghana is ranked first in Africa with glaucoma cases and
second in the world hence Boayen Sight Savers says it has opened its doors to
other churches to partner them for such screening exercises.
Boayen Sight Savers Ghana is a social company established in
November 2017 with the objective of providing quality free eye care examination
to less privileged people.
Their ultimate goal is to able to replicate glaucoma and
other eye-related education and care exercises in the rural areas of Ghana.
Other members of the team were Dr Isaac Asirifi, an
optometrist, Dr Gideon Addo, an optometrist and Mr Augustine Kyei.