The general public has been advised to eat more foods that contain Vitamin A to help in the protection of the eyes against diseases.

Dr Evelyn Oteng, an eye specialist at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital gave the advice when she addressed a durbar organised by the Resource Link Foundation (RLF) to mark the 10th anniversary of “Ghana/The Netherlands Partnership and Reading Festival” on Friday at the Jubilee Park, Wenchi in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

The RLF is a Ghanaian NGO which is into quality health and education promotion, especially at the primary school level.

On the theme “Promoting Education through Reading- the Multi-Stakeholder Agenda”, the programme was attended by pupils and students from 11 basic schools within the Wenchi Municipality.

Dr Oteng said that a lot of people, particularly school children, were having eye conditions that were negatively affecting their academic performances and therefore urged the general public to eat balanced diets with plenty of vegetables and fruits to protect the eye from eventual impairment.

Dr Oteng stated that living in an unhygienic environment could also affect the eye because of dirt and other foreign materials and stressed the need for regular hand washing to avoid touching the eyes with dirty hands.

She emphasised the need for everybody to go for an eye test at least once every year for early prevention of eye diseases).

Dr Oteng entreated the school children to study under brighter lights for the healthy condition of their eyes.

A free eye screening exercise was organised for the pupils, and those identified with eye problems were referred to the Hospital’s Eye Department for further check-up and treatment.