1m Nigerians are blind – Expert

About one million Nigerians suffer from one form of blindness or the other while over 50 per cent of the number is caused by cataract alone, the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN) has said.
“This figure is based on a research conducted in 2008,” Professor Sebastian Nwosu, President of the society told newsmen in Jos, Plateau State, at the end of a weeklong conference.
Professor Nwosu said while cataract accounts for over 50 per cent of the cases of blindness, glaucoma, and several other factors are responsible for the remaining 50 per cent.  The OSN president said three million Nigerians suffer partial blindness, a situation that could be corrected if proper treatment was done.
He said 42 out of every 1,000 Nigerians are blind, pointing out that the distribution varied from one geographical area of the country to the other. While cataract is age related, genetic factors as well as human life styles also result to blindness in some cases, he said.