Nurses and teachers of visually impaired schools have undergone a five-day workshop on early detection of visual impairment among children between the ages of zero to six years.

The programme was organized by Visio International, a non-governmental organization based in the Netherlands, that supports persons with visual impairments in the areas of education, care and rehabilitation.

Other collaborators of the programme include the Presbyterian Health Service of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, Department of Children at the Ministry of Gender, children and Social Protection and the National Eye Care Unit of the Ghana Health Service.

The participants were drawn from six municipalities and districts across the 16 regions of the country.

Mr Bert Van Der Waal, the Programme Manager of Visio International, said the workshop is to help the participants to identify early, children with visual impairment problems for support so that, they can join the mainstream education system from the early ages and progress gradually through the educational system.

He said his outfit wants to ensure that children with visual impairment can live a normal life, socialize and play with their other colleagues without being neglected.

The Programme Manager advised that the beneficiaries of the training to form a group in their various municipalities and districts with other stakeholders to organize better care for children in their areas.

Mr Jeremiah Badu-Shayer, the Country Coordinator for the Visio Programme, said the training is to help the participants to establish a referral system for early and appropriate referral of children identified in their communities with eye challenges.

He said some of these cases require early detection so that the problem could be rectified, however, due to the lack of knowledge, the problems have been neglected leading to aggravation situations.

Dr James Addy, the Head of the Eye Care Unit of the Ghana Health Service, said the age limit was selected because it has been realized that there is a gap in the treatment of children with eye challenges between the ages of zero to six years.

He said now that the country is promoting inclusive education, there is no need for children with such cases to end up in the schools for the blind but be encouraged to be part of the normal school system.

Ms Joan Kafui, the Special Education Coordinator at La Dadakotopon Municipal Education office, said the training has shown them how to manage and train such children with special educational needs as well as nurture them.

She said they were made to understand that even before one can manage such children, one needs to show them love, empathy and acceptance to be able to understand them better to provide the needed service.