Initially his family believed that their son had been bewitched when he lost his sight.
But as the years have gone by and with great difficulty they seem to have accepted the blow that life has dealt them.
Now 35, Joseph Thang’wa says that he began to develop eye problems at the age of seven and by the time he was 15 years, he had gone totally blind.
“Many people take eyesight for granted, there are those who believe that every single blind person was born without eyesight, they would be surprised to know that this is not always the case,” he explains.
A similar fate has befallen many Kenyan children yet experts are saying that proper eye care would have saved their eyesight.
“By using basic eye drops, 40 per cent of the causes of childhood blindness are preventable or treatable,” Prof Geoffrey Simiyu, an ophthalmologist in Nairobi, explains.
He however cautions people against self medication, advising that a pharmacist should not dispense drugs without a current prescription. “Using the wrong eye drop can worsen an infection and even lead to blindness in the affected eye,” he says.
Though blindness is largely perceived to be a permanent condition experts on eye care continue to say otherwise. With timely and appropriate treatment lost vision can be in most cases restored. In fact statistics by the ministry of health indicate that a vast majority of blindness cases, at least 80 per cent, are due to curable and preventable cases.
“More than 300,000 Kenyans are blind and about 16,800 of them are children making eye disease one of the top 10 causes of morbidity and subsequent loss of productivity,” Prof Simiyu.
For many, going blind can lead to the end of their education, employment and independence. Though many of the visually impaired persons do the best they can to cope with the impairment, Prof Simiyu explains a vast majority remain unaware that as a result of advances in science, eye disease is not always permanent.
Prof Simiyu is however quick to caution that remedy does not come cheap “even where there is awareness of available options to correct impaired vision and reverse blindness, there are still so many obstacles including a lack of resources, high cost of treatment and limited access to services.”
According to the ministry of health, there are about 90 static eye units and clinics with a bed capacity of about 700, with another 20 units providing outreach services.
Unfortunately most of them have basic eye care equipment and lack more specialised equipment for detailed ophthalmic examination and surgery to address the staggering eye disease burden in the country.
Nearly 13 per cent of ophthalmic equipment and or instruments are out of order with quite a number not functioning optimally.
But equally important, the number of personnel performing surgery is less than adequate and unevenly distributed across the country with the urban areas enjoying access to more ophthalmologists compared to the rural areas.
“Going by government figures there are about 86 ophthalmologists in the country with half of them being located in Nairobi even though the eye care disease burden is heavier in the rural areas,” observes Prof Simiyu.
He further indicates that the current ratio of ophthalmologists to population stands at one ophthalmologist for every 450,000 people which is way below the WHO’s recommendation of one ophthalmologist for every 250,000 people.
As if the situation is not alarming enough, the International Trachoma Initiative estimates that nearly six million people are at risk of being infected with trachoma.
Trachoma is one of the major causes of blindness in the country as is cataracts and glaucoma.
Experts associate trachoma with poverty and it has been known to afflict communities that have poor water supplies, sanitation and health services. These communities also tend to be isolated with people living in close proximity. According to the Trachoma Initiative, trends show that a majority of the areas affected by trachoma are in the Rift Valley.
And there is a gender perspective too. Experts say that women are twice as likely to be blinded by trachoma due to their role as caretakers. The infection is passed easily amongst family members through close contact.
Although children are at greatest risk of being infected with trachoma, symptoms can remain hidden and manifest in adulthood.
Though with early detection and treatment most causes of blindness are curable. Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness accounting for an estimated 25,200 of people who are blind, according to the ministry of health.
Prof Simiyu explains that glaucoma-associated visual impairment and blindness remain difficult to prevent because of the lack of methods to identify persons who are likely to develop substantial visual loss.
Besides those who are completely blind, it is estimated that about 840,000 people have low vision, with experts saying that only a small percent access low vision services.
Data also shows that there is minimal focus on low vision compared to total blindness within the eye care services, as only four institutions provide specialised low vision services.
Experts say in some cases, such diseases may involve or afflict the eye but present no symptoms until it is too late. Those concerned that their computer screens might cause eye problems or damage to their eyes are advised that this is not necessarily the case.
A computer screen does not in itself cause damage to the eye. However, prolonged use of a computer has been known to cause eye strain, fatigue, blurry vision and headaches characterising a condition referred to as the computer vision syndrome. The syndrome is also associated with poor blinking as a result of staring at the screen and may result in dry eyes and discomfort.
Visiting an ophthalmologist regularly has been advised whereby in case a problem is discovered, the situation can be easily dealt with in its early stages.
Those with medical diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and connective tissue disorders such as arthritis and systemic lupus should see the ophthalmologist routinely. An eye specialist is also in a position to assess children of all ages including newborns and make an assessment regarding the status of their vision.
More on eye disease and care
- Cataract is the leading cause of blindness accounting for 43 per cent of the total cases.
- Trachoma is second accounting for 19 per cent.
- Glaucoma and childhood blindness account for nine per cent and six per cent respectively.
- This implies that over 80 per cent of the cases are due to curable and preventable causes.
- The National Strategic Plan For Eye Health and Blindness Prevention 2012 to 2018 provides a strategy to the realisation of a Kenya free of avoidable blindness
- The Strategic Plan states that The University of Nairobi and Kenya Medical Training College are the two institutions involved in training eye care workers.
- The two institutions have a capacity to train 10 ophthalmologists per year and KMTC can train 10 Ophthalmic Clinical officers/Cataract Surgeons and 16 Ophthalmic Nurses per year.
- Kenya has signed the Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness.