NAIROBI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Approximately nine million Kenyans are in need of eye care services, Health Ministry officials said on Friday.
Michael Gichangi, head of ophthalmic services unit at the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua in Nairobi that people seek eye care services due to short sightedness, difficulty in reading or having an eye disease.
"Due to concentration of services in major urban towns, only two million people can access eye care services," Gichangi said during the eye camp for school children with albinism.
Over 100 Albino children received free eye checkup and free prescription glasses.
According to the Ministry of Health, approximately 200,000 people are blind.
Gichangi said that there is poor uptake of eye care services due to lack of awareness of the availability of the services.
Gichangi added that age-related cataract is one of the leading causes of blindness in Kenya. Other causes inlude albinism,trachoma and childhood blindness.
He observed that the number of blind people in Kenya is likely to increase due to the rising life expectancy.
"As one grows older, there is increased cloudiness of the lense of the eye and this could lead to blindness if not detected early," he said.
The ministry has launched a specific strategy to deal with preventable causes of blindness such as trachoma.
Gichangi said that visual impairment among the albino community is also very prevalent.
Prabha Choksey, the founder of the Dr Choksey Albinism Foundation, said that over 90 percent of children with albinism have some form of visual impairment due to lack of pigment in their eyes.
"As a result, majority of albino are enrolled in blind schools because of sight problems," Choksey added.
She called for all relevant stakeholders to collaborate so that albinos can be provided with prescription glasses at an early age in order to improve their sight.
