Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria has issued a stark warning that the country risks losing more eye-care specialists as the migration of ophthalmologists continues to worsen the shortage and maldistribution of eye-care professionals, with the loss of a single specialist estimated to cost the economy about $150,000 annually. The society's President, Dr Gloria Patrick-Ferife, raised the concern in a communiqué issued at the end of the society's 51st Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference, tagged Abuja ASO 2026, held from September 2 to 4 in Abuja. The three-day conference, themed "Re-imagining Eye Care in the Digital Era," focused on challenges facing eye-care delivery and how technology and innovation could improve access to specialised services, attracting more than 850 ophthalmologists and ophthalmologists in training from Nigeria and other African countries.
Patrick-Ferife said the continued migration of ophthalmologists was putting additional pressure on an already inadequate workforce, particularly in rural and underserved communities, calling on federal, state and local governments to increase the employment of ophthalmologists and other eye-health professionals and stressing the need to create conditions that would encourage skilled workers to remain in Nigeria. She identified poor distribution of health workers, insecurity and inadequate employment opportunities as factors contributing to the concentration of specialists in major cities. "The cost of losing one ophthalmologist was estimated at about $150,000 per annum to the economy," Patrick-Ferife said, calling for improved facilities, security and welfare to make practising in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas, more attractive.
Beyond the workforce challenge, the OSN president said Nigeria was also facing a significant burden of visual impairment, with more than 24 million Nigerians affected, noting that cataract, glaucoma, uncorrected refractive errors and diabetic retinopathy remain major causes of blindness and visual impairment in the country. She stressed that about 84 per cent of cases of visual impairment and blindness in Nigeria were preventable or treatable, making early detection and access to appropriate treatment crucial. The society expressed concern about the uneven distribution of ophthalmologists and other eye health workers, brain drain, inadequate electricity supply and the high cost of data, which it said were limiting access to quality eye care.
Patrick-Ferife said technology could provide new ways of reaching people who currently have limited access to specialist eye care, listing artificial intelligence, tele-ophthalmology, digital imaging, electronic medical records and simulation-based training among technologies that could help expand services and improve the quality of care, even as she cautioned that technology should complement rather than replace professional medical expertise. "Technological advancement must not compromise ethics or replace the human expertise required in patient care," she said. The society also expressed concern about the digital divide, inadequate infrastructure, affordability, data protection and ethical issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. To improve planning and decision-making, the OSN called for eye-health data to be integrated into the national District Health Information Software platform, while also advocating the use of solar-powered digital tools at primary healthcare facilities, particularly in areas where unreliable electricity limits the use of digital health technologies.
The society further urged the adoption of tele-ophthalmology to connect patients in underserved communities with specialists and reduce geographical barriers to eye care, saying Nigeria must combine investment in its health workforce with technology and better use of data to address the country's eye-care challenges and ensure that quality services are available beyond major urban centres. The OSN also called for increased investment in the training and retraining of ophthalmologists and other eye-care workers, particularly in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, electronic medical records and digital diagnostics, while also calling for clearer professional boundaries, stronger regulation against quackery and improved ethical standards in the eye-care sector.
The conference followed a series of pre-congress activities that began on August 26, including a World Press Conference at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja. Between August 27 and 28, the Society conducted a free surgical outreach during which 500 cataract surgeries were performed on indigent patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja; University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada; Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja; and Mararaba General Hospital, Nasarawa State. Patrick-Ferife said Nigeria must combine investment in its health workforce with technology and better use of data to address the country's eye-care challenges and ensure that quality services are available beyond major urban centres. "Government cannot employ all ophthalmologists everywhere. We don't even have the numbers. But if we can leverage on what we have, leverage on the skills that are available in major centres, leverage on teleophthalmology, leverage on AI, on digital technology, we should be able to take eye care to the remote areas," she said. As the brain drain of eye specialists continues, the question remains: how many more ophthalmologists must leave before the government takes the crisis seriously?
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments