Twenty years after the take-off of the popular “Jigi-Bola” programme, the Lagos State government, on Tuesday, relaunched and expanded the Blindness Prevention Programme to include Ear Impairment Prevention, targeted at reaching 250,000 Lagosians across the state.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while re-launching the programme, stated that his administration was relaunching the Jigi-Bola initiative in celebration of one of the many legacy grassroots outreach programmes of the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and to restate its commitment to improving the wellbeing and welfare of Lagosians.
The governor, who was represented at the event which took place at the Police College, Ikeja, said the aim of this relaunch was to improve the capacity for efficient eye and ear care delivery and to ensure that Lagosians do not lose their vision and hearing when it could have been prevented.
“The aim of this relaunch is to improve the capacity for efficient eye and ear care delivery and to ensure that Lagosians do not lose their vision and hearing when it could have been prevented,” Sanwo-Olu stated.
The governor disclosed that his administration had taken a step further with the Jigi-Bola Initiative by broadening its scope to include a hearing aid programme, which will cater for the needs of Lagosians with hearing difficulty through the provision of hearing aids and other medical support, noting that this was based on the understanding that vision and hearing impairment could make life difficult but could be prevented with early care and intervention.
“We understand that vision and hearing impairment can make life difficult but could be prevented with early care and intervention. That is why we are re-launching the Jigi-Bola Initiative as a Free Sight and Hearing Aid Programme,” he said.
According to Governor Sanwo-Olu, the initiative is open to all Lagosians, including those in the grassroots across the 20 Local Government Areas, saying that the services to be offered include early detection of eye conditions that may lead to blindness, eye and ear health education, free eye surgery and treatment, and also the distribution of hearing aids and eyeglasses.
The governor assured that his administration was committed to making life much easier and better for Lagosians irrespective of status, age, religion, tribe or other human differences, adding that the primary goal of his administration was to improve the comfort and wellbeing of the citizens of the state and would stop at nothing to achieve this.
“I once again use this opportunity to assure Lagosians that we remain ever-committed to making life easier and better for them regardless of status, age, religion, tribe and other human differences. Our primary goal as a government is to improve the comfort and well being of our people and we will stop at nothing to achieve that,” the governor said.
Wife of the State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, in her welcome address, stated that the re-launch of the programme marked a significant landmark in the annals of Lagos State and a clear testament of the determination of the administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu to prioritize all aspects of healthcare delivery.
She added that the major reason the state government was including the distribution of hearing aids in the programme was to improve both hearing and speech comprehension; thereby bringing relief to those battling with hearing loss, but could not afford a hearing aid.
She, therefore, urged Lagosians, especially those suffering from visual and hearing impairments to take advantage of the Jigi-Bola Initiative to improve their health, stressing that a large number of causes with visual impairment and hearing loss were preventable and many can be treated effectively if detected early.
In his address, the State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, commended the initiative, describing it as an important one that brings relief and functionality to the people.
Abayomi noted that it was the responsibility of his ministry to ensure that all Lagosians enjoyed good health, saying that one of the most important aspects of good health is the wellness of the sense organs.
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25 years after, Sanwo-Olu relaunches, expands Jigi-Bola Programme