As the world marked World Sight day, a top Opthalmologist, Hillary Rono in Trans Nzoia County has been acknowledged by Health CAS Rashid Aman for working tirelessly to treat and cater for people with eyesight problems. Speaking when he paid a courtesy call to Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba, he lauded the efforts the doctor.
The CAS pointed out the severity of eyes’ impairment, attributing Dr. Rono with efforts and contributions in innovation and research concerning the same, leading to his recognition by the AU in 2018 and the Queen of England in 2019.
Dr. Rono was at a certain point the only eye specialist serving Trans Nzoia, West Pokot and Turkana residents, and he was involved in the setting up of the ground breaking smartphone based eye screening system. It can carry out vision tests and use technology to identify people with vision impairment wherever they are. 200,000 school children were tested in Trans Nzoia in the last three years and 6,000 treated.
The CAS pointed out that the number of people in Kenya with eye ailments is about 7.5 million claiming that the health workers have only managed to only reach 1.6 million patients affected by eyesight problems.
He, however, said there were so many challenges which include lack of awareness that some conditions can be treated. Access to treatment is also a challenge as well as high costs required in the treatment of severe impairments.
On the Covid-19 pandemic the CAS claimed that the rising cases in the country has been caused by increasing social and political gatherings, with Trans Nzoia County recording a total of 226 cases so far.
He disclosed that the prison department has been hit hard with 215 inmates quarantined. He said if rising infections are recorded, then the prison will be closed down, as has been the case with the Nairobi remand prison.
