Many journalists in Cameroon run the risk of contracting various eye disorders like blurred vision, myopia or eye fatigue as a result of risks related to the Computer Vision Syndrome, medics have warned.
The warning was issued by Dr Elisabeth Asthma, Medical Officer at the Presbyterian Eye Hospital in Yaounde during a sensitization talk with members of the Yaounde Chapter of the Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ.
Organised in partnership with the Christian Blind Mission, the sensitization was part of activities to mark the World Sight Day at the health facility. The day is set aside to raise awareness and educate the population on eye related diseases, blindness and visual impairment.
According to Dr Asthma, early diagnosis and treatment helps to avert any looming eye fatality as she encouraged media practitioners to always visit their opthamologists while ensuring they sensitise their audiences on the importance of such move.
“Prevention is always better than cure. Endeavour to check your eyes and if something is happening with them, early treatment is always better,” she said.
The early talk on eye care and hygiene, set the tone for a free screening exercise that took place at the Presbyterian Hospital, Nsimeyong with over 500 persons sensitised and screened throughout the day.
Presenting the statistics on eye related diseases, Julius Fon, Country Director of CBM said Cataracts affects 1% of persons aged 0-40 years and 88% of persons aged 60 and above in the country every year while about 26,000 new cases are recorded annually.
To provide a solution, he said CBM in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health provides financial support for 5000 cataract surgeries in Cameroon each year while they have equally provided support for 15 million surgeries on a global scale. For over 40 years, they have extended their eye care services to eight of the ten regions of Cameroon.
To help fight the disease in Cameroon, the Presbyterian Eye Services in partnership with CBM set up the first subregional Specialist Ophthalmologist Pediatric Unit, in Limbe worth about FCFA 1 billion.
JDC TV, Video news 
