There have been testimonies of restored sights as more than 2,000 people accessed healthcare services in an outreach organized in Lagos as part of the Vision First initiative of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo).

“Now I can see clearly, I can see my beautiful wife again, after not being able to see her for some years very well. I am really happy,” a beneficiary, Ademola Alabi Joshua, said after surgery for cataract on his eyes. “When I got here, my first eye was operated, and I discovered that the second day I came, I could see very clearly, so I decided to go for the second eye, which was also operated yesterday, and today I discovered that my sight was regained back to normal. Thank you so much.”

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Taiwo Onogu, said she was billed N1.4 million for the eye surgery which was eventually conducted free at the outreach.

The five-day outreach which held in Mushin Local Council Development Area, was the fourth in Lagos since the introduction of the Vision First initiative in 2022. Among other things, the medical team performed 245 eye surgeries, of which 198 were for cataract and 47 for Pterygium. Another 1,992 received laboratory services while the pharmacy dispensed drugs to 1,863 patients. Nearly 1,652 people received general consultation.

The latest milestones mean the programme has reached more than 6,000 people with over 400 eye surgeries and distribution of more than 2,000 eyeglasses since 2022.

SNEPCo Managing Director, Ronald Adams commented on the impact of the programme: “Vision is an important part of life, and we’re pleased at the testimonies from Mushin, which were the same positive feedback from the three earlier sessions. With the support of NNPC and co-venture partners, we will continue to implement impactful social investments which have been an integral part of our operations since we pioneered deep-water oil production at Bonga in 2005.”

The Vision First initiative aims to combat avoidable visual impairment through early diagnosis and treatment, against the background of a report in the National Eye Health Policy 2019 that, blindness in three out of four people in Nigeria, is preventable.