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First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has called for sustainable financing and stronger public-private partnerships to reduce avoidable blindness and improve access to eye care services in Nigeria.
The bank made the call recently at a roundtable in Abuja organised in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through the National Eye, Ear and Sensory Functions Health Programme, and the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation (TCF).
The roundtable, themed “Gift of Sight: Mobilising Partnerships and Sustainable Funding Towards Transforming Eye Care in Nigeria,” brought together government officials, healthcare professionals, financial institutions, development partners, private sector organisations, foundations and civil society groups to explore ways of improving eye care delivery in the country.
FCMB Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Yemisi Edun, said eye health should be treated as a national development priority, noting that access to quality eye care would improve productivity, education and people’s overall well-being.
Edun, whose speech was delivered by the bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Affairs, Diran Olojo, said investment in eye health should be seen as an investment in human capital.
“Eye health deserves a place among our national development priorities and should be viewed as an investment in human capital,” she said.
She explained that timely access to eye care would enable more Nigerians to learn, earn a living and participate actively in their communities.
Edun also stressed the need to support people living with permanent vision loss through rehabilitation services and other forms of assistance that would enable them to live productive and fulfilling lives.
Since 2009, more than 400,000 people have benefited from free eye care provided by FCMB and TCF through their Priceless Gift of Sight initiative.
The programme provides services including eye examinations, optical care, surgeries and the management of eye diseases, helping beneficiaries access treatment that might otherwise be beyond their financial means.
Beyond the initiative, FCMB said it had committed ₦20 billion to financing private healthcare businesses in Nigeria. The funding is intended to help healthcare providers expand their capacity, modernise facilities and improve service delivery, including within the eye care sector.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, commended the bank and its partners for their contributions, while calling for innovative financing arrangements to widen access to eye care services.
He identified blended finance, social impact bonds and corporate co-funding as possible mechanisms for mobilising the resources required to strengthen eye care delivery.
“The federal government well appreciates your commitment and contributions,” Salako said.
The National Coordinator of the National Eye, Ear and Sensory Functions Health Programme, Oteri Okolo, said vision impairment could worsen inequality by limiting people’s ability to access education, secure employment and participate fully in society.
He described restoring sight as a cost-effective development intervention, highlighting the wider social and economic benefits of preventing avoidable blindness.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of TCF, Shravan Kasam, emphasised the importance of combining technical expertise, private sector funding and community-based services to tackle preventable vision loss.
Participants at the roundtable identified healthcare infrastructure, modern diagnostic and treatment equipment, skilled personnel, reliable data and community-based services as key areas requiring sustained investment.
They stressed that addressing these needs would require stronger collaboration among government agencies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, development partners and private organisations.
The meeting underscored the need to move beyond short-term interventions towards sustainable funding arrangements that would make eye care more accessible and affordable to Nigerians, particularly people who face financial barriers to diagnosis and treatment.
