Dr Zakarea Al-Hassan Balure, an Optometrist, has urged parents to take active responsibility for the eye health of their children instead of leaving it solely in the hands of health professionals.

He said good eyesight was essential for effective learning and overall child development, emphasising the need for parents to seek regular eye screening services for their children.

“Parents are always concerned about their children’s academic performance, but without good eyesight, learning becomes difficult. 

“It is important that parents seek regular eye screening services for their children at the health facility, and not to wait for free screening services, though they are also good,” he stated.

Dr Balure, the Manager of Bliss Eye Care, a private eye clinic in Wa, made the call after a free eye screening exercise organised at Tanina in the Wa West District under the Blissful Sight for Kids (BS4Ks) Programme.

The programme, implemented by the Bliss Eye Care in partnership with Ghana Vision, a Swiss-based charity organisation, has, since its inception about a decade ago, impacted thousands of children in the Upper West region and beyond through free eye screening and treatment services.

The exercise in Tanina recorded improved attendance compared to patronage in the district in previous years, an indication of growing awareness among parents about the importance of child eye care.

A total of 684 children were screened during the exercise, out of which 42 were found to have normal eye conditions.

However, 623 children were diagnosed with pathological eye conditions requiring medication, eleven had refractive errors requiring eyeglasses, while eight cases of cataract and glaucoma were also detected.

Dr Balure commended parents and guardians within the Tanina circuit for travelling far distances to access the service for their children.

He called for sustained awareness creation and community participation in eye health programmes to improve their children’s vision, which is necessary for improving educational outcomes and the well-being of children.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Mahama Abdul Fatawu Mwinibang, the Assembly Member for the Tanina Electoral Area, expressed gratitude to Bliss Eye Care and Ghana Vision for the intervention, as it helped bridge a critical healthcare access gap in the area.

He, however, appealed to the organisers to consider including older persons in subsequent screening exercises.

He encouraged parents and guardians to maintain close relationships with their children to enable them detect eye-related problems early for treatment. –GNA

The Ghana Water Justice Network (GWJN), a civil society organization, has called on the government to make water affordable and accessible to Ghanaians in the country. 

The organization said making water affordable, particularly for low-income and vulnerable households, included an end to water disconnections due to inability to pay. 

This was in a communiqué issued at the launch of the GWJN in Accra on the theme “Water for People, Not for Profit.” 

The launch of the event was to mobilize citizens and advocate sustainable long-term solutions to Ghana’s escalating water crisis.  

The statement said such disconnections violated the human right to water and disproportionately affected women and children. 

“We advocate for inclusive, humane service delivery that prioritizes dignity and access to all citizens,” the statement said. 

The statement urged the government to address significant investment shortfalls by fully honouring budget commitments, especially by extending services to underserved communities. 

The statement urged authorities to actively include women as leaders and decision-makers in water management at all levels and address the disproportionate impacts of water scarcity on women and girls.  

It also called for the establishment and enforcement of water protection zones and the integration of catchment protection plans into spatial planning schemes.  

“To combat the menace of galamsey, we urge the government to seize assets and prosecute financiers and equipment owners, support community-based river guards, and deploy satellite and drone surveillance systems to combat illegal mining,” it said. 

 The communiqué also called on the authorities to introduce a national borehole drilling permit system, create a central groundwater database, and promote shared community borehole systems.  

The statement said for countless communities across the country, access to affordable and reliable water remained out of reach.  

In rural areas, peri-urban settlements, and low-income urban neighbourhoods, daily realities are marked by long queues, inconsistent supply, and rising costs.  

It said at the heart of this crisis were women and children, who bear the heaviest burden when water systems fail.  

This situation, the statement said, leaves far too many people behind and threatened to derail progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal six—universal and equitable access to safe and affordable water for all by 2030.  -GNA