FOYS arranges Glaucoma Screening for more than 300

On 25th March,2014 thanks to special funding, and local health professionals, a Glaucoma screening clinic will be held for pupils attending schools in Abiriw, Akwapem North, and their teachers. There will be no charge.
It is anticipated that 170 pupils from the Presbyterian schools in the town and 150 from the Seventh Day Adventist Primary School, together with 14 teachers, will be tested.
Attention has recently been drawn to Glaucoma and the World Health Organisation has published worrying figures about the increase in the number they anticipate will be affected by the condition. It has been emphasised that this is a major problem and everyone should know their status.
In Ghana, Glaucoma has sometimes been neglected when it comes to focusing attention on particular ailments. This is partly because World Glaucoma Day coincides with Ghana’s Independence Day, and, despite the best efforts of members of the Glaucoma Association of Ghana, the problem has been overshadowed.
In Abiriw , a local organisation, Focus on Your Strengths , established by Mrs Patience Addo Gibbs, has already sponsored one Glaucoma Clinic. That was held on 20th September 2013 and attracted nearly 100 townspeople who were tested, without charge, by a highly trained and well equipped team.
FOYS has secured funding to sponsor a second clinic and, in response to particular needs has identified school-aged children as the group that is particularly ‘at risk’. In delivering the clinic, FOYS be building on experience gained from running Diabetes clinics. It will also draw on the understanding, commitment and skills of local health personnel, and on the capacity to organise such events that has been built up in the community.
The number being tested on this occasion – nearly 350 – reflects the determination of the organisers to make a significant impact on the health provision in the community. The testing is vital and will be the initial step in assessing the needs of those suffering from, or liable to suffer from, Glaucoma.