President Bola Tinubu has granted approval for a partnership between the Peek Vision Foundation and the national eye health program under the Federal Ministry of Health.
This collaboration aims to provide over five million pairs of eyeglasses to Nigerians suffering from vision impairments.
President Tinubu announced this initiative during a visit by Andrew Bastawrous, the CEO of the foundation and co-founder of the Vision Catalyst Fund, in Abuja on Friday.
His motivation for supporting this cause stems from a personal experience with eye health, as he recounted the story of how his mother regained clear vision with the help of eyeglasses.
This prompted him to ponder how others in similar situations could manage without assistance.
The President expressed his commitment to advancing widespread eye care and pledged to offer free eye screenings and surgeries.
His resolve to make eye care accessible to all was ignited by his mother’s question and her passion to see others healed.
Tinubu emphasized the impact of their efforts in Lagos, where countless individuals experienced immediate improvements in their sight upon receiving eyeglasses.
He vowed to support the initiative further and mobilize additional commitments to ensure its success, particularly in reaching vulnerable populations across Nigeria.
Bastawrous, sharing his own story, highlighted the under-resourcing of eye care in many countries, with Nigeria allocating only a minuscule portion of its health budget to eye health.
However, he praised President Tinubu’s strong health sector team and expressed the Foundation’s intent to introduce its Peek Vision methodology and platform to Nigeria.
This move aims to attract resources from various sources to address the nation’s eye care needs.
Bastawrous cited successful instances where Peek Vision had unlocked significant funding for eye care programs in other countries, and he expressed the desire to allocate a substantial portion of the Vision Catalyst Fund’s 200 million pairs of glasses donation to Nigeria.
