Nigeria pledges 25,000 subsidised cataract operations and five million spectacles by 2027
Announced at a global eye health summit, the plan also trains 15,000 primary health workers to reach 25 million vulnerable Nigerians.
Abuja — Nigeria has promised five million pairs of reading spectacles and 25,000 fully subsidised cataract operations by 2027. Minister of State for Health Iziaq Salako made the commitments at the Global Summit for Eye Health in Antigua and Barbuda on 2 November.
The government will also train 15,000 primary health workers and bring basic eye care into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund. It aims to reach more than 25 million vulnerable Nigerians, especially women, older people and rural residents.
By 2030, it plans to raise the eye care workforce by 20% and increase effective cataract surgery coverage by 30 percentage points.
The programme, JigiBola 2.0, draws on a Lagos State scheme begun about 25 years ago, on which Salako said he volunteered as a young doctor. Nigeria is also among the countries in the WHO's global initiative to eliminate cataract blindness.
Source: Premium Times, November 2026.
