Korede Abdullah 
CROSS RIVER, Nigeria – Cross River State has only two optometrists in its civil service serving a population of more than four million people, the Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) has warned, raising concerns over access to professional eye care and the risk of avoidable blindness.
The NOA Cross River Chapter disclosed the shortage on Tuesday during an advocacy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Calabar ahead of World Sight Day 2026.
The association’s chairperson, Dr Ogechi Cecilia Chukwu, described the manpower gap as a serious public health concern, particularly for people living in rural and underserved communities. “Cross River State today has only two Optometrists in state government employment. How can two Optometrists serve four million people? It is impossible. Blindness is looming if nothing is done urgently,” Chukwu warned.
She said the shortage of qualified eye-care professionals in general hospitals and rural health facilities had also created opportunities for untrained practitioners to exploit residents.
According to her, some unqualified operators hawk glasses, conduct fake eye examinations and prescribe inappropriate medications in markets, motor parks and churches, potentially putting patients’ sight at further risk.
The association therefore appealed to Governor Bassey Otu to declare a state of emergency in the eye-care sector and urgently recruit and deploy more optometrists across the state’s three senatorial districts.
Chukwu said accessible eye examinations, proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment were essential to preventing avoidable visual impairment and blindness.
The NOA said the problem was particularly important as Cross River prepares for World Sight Day on October 8, an annual global campaign focused on preventable blindness, visual impairment and access to eye care. Recent reporting from the association also highlighted the growing concern over eye-care quackery in rural and underserved communities.
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Mirian Gom 
Oluwatobi Adu 