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In Africa, Ghana most affected by Glaucoma
Ghana has been identified as one of the countries on the African continent most affected by glaucoma, with 8.5 percent of persons above 40 years having the disease and 7.7 percent of persons above 30 years also with the disease.
This came to light recently when the Ghana Health Service (GHS) marked the 2008 “World Sight Day” which falls on every second Thursday in October. The Day is under the theme “Eyes on the Future - Fight Vision Impairment in Later Life Now.”
Giving a presentation on blindness, Dr. Oscar Debrah, Head of the Eye Care Unit of the GHS, said although Ghana was one of the leaders in glaucoma cases in Africa, cataract was the main cause of blindness as it contributed 45-50 percent of all cases.
15 to 20 percent of blindness cases in Ghana are due to glaucoma, he said.
Dr. Debrah noted that three out of every four cases of blindness were preventable and that 90 percent of blind persons worldwide live in low-income countries.
Source: Ghana News Agency