The third edition of the annual Kiddie Eyecare Day was held last weekend, with thousands of kids mostly from the capital receiving free eye screening and medication.

The event, organised by Third Eyecare and Vision Centre as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes, is targeted at reducing the incidence of preventable blindness in children.

Speaking in an interview with The Finder, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Third Eyecare and Vision Centre, Dr Kwame Oben-Nyarko, said the kids are taken through free thorough screening and are given free medication and spectacles when needed.

He added that those that require surgical interventions are referred to tertiary eyecare facilities for surgical services, but the bills are currently borne by their parents or guardians.

He, however, mentioned that it is in their medium to long-term plan that they would be able to include free surgical services in their activities for children who require surgery.

He also said they hope to expand the exercise to other regions in the country and possibly to neighbouring countries on the continent.

Dr Oben-Nyarko explained that they narrowed their exercise to kids because they are the future leaders of the country, therefore they needed to be checked to prevent preventable blindness.

In addition to the eye examinations, there was a funfair; children were involved in several games and activities, including the use of bouncy castles and trampolines, treasure hunt, face painting, colouring and painting competitions, dancing competitions, musical chairs, spelling bees and quizzes, and the kids were given prizes for the various activities they are engaged in.

In the first year (2015) of the programme, about 600 children benefitted from free eye screening and 400 children had drugs. That year, the glasses were not free, but subsequently, in the second year (2016), 1,200 children benefitted from the free examinations, with 740 of them getting drugs and 180 getting glasses. This year, about 2,000 children had their eyes screened; out of this, 536 received glasses while 1,467 bottles of eye drops were dispensed.

The event was supported by school box plus, Eddy’s pizza, EPP Books, Sunny FM, Renie Chemist, gogurt, Spintex Chemist, Africoco, Avonsige, B&FT, MedSplash, Pekon and The Finder.