One of the students undergoing free eye screening
By Hameed Oyegbade
School children with refractive error in Osun State have been given free corrective glasses as part of moves to curb blindness among pupils.
At the flag-off of the exercise in Osogbo, the children drawn from different schools underwent free eye screening and those with vision impairment were given free corrective glasses.
The programme was facilitated by a non-profit organisation, Community Advancement Initiative for Self-Reliance (CAI4SR), with the support from Essilor-Social Impact Fund.
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The Executive Director of CAI4SR, Mrs Eni Ayeni, said the objective of the programme was to ensure that children in schools do not go blind due to lack of simple corrective glasses.
Ayeni said 50,000 children in the state would benefit from the free eye care to cater for their eye health and that 5,000 will get free eyeglasses.
She said the programme would cover 15 local government areas in the state and that only children age 0 -16 would benefit.
The Chairman of the State University Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr Israel Famurewa, lauded CAI4SR and Essilor for the gesture.