Ugandans urged to embrace professional eye care

With the increasing number of different cases eye sight complications, opticians have now urged people to seek professional eye care solutions to assist them achieve proper sight and correct eye sight problems in some instances.

While opening the 16th optical shop for Lapaire Africa in Uganda in collaboration with Vivo Energy in Entebbe-Kitooro on Monday, Mr Oliver Mwanko, the company’s communication officer said professional eye care helps to detect vision problems and determine corrective prescriptions for people.

“In Africa, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that, 55 million people need glasses. Of that number, less than 1 percent actually have glasses; that is 1.3 million people across Africa who actually have access to eyeglasses. Most people are in need of glasses, but they do not even know that they need glasses for several reasons like costs for glasses,” he said.
Mr Mwanko said the expansion is part of a larger effort aimed at improving optical care coverage across Africa where, according to the WHO, 80 percent of visually impaired individuals do not receive adequate care.

“The Ministry of Health estimates that 3.5 million Ugandans have issues with their eyesight, 150,000 of Ugandans are blind in both eyes leaving a number of people in need of eye care services across the country. During our November road safety campaign with the police and different bodies, it was estimated in 2023, more than 23,000 accidents took place of which 40 percent were actually because of poor vision,” he said.
The partnership with Vivo Energy will see Lapaire establish optical shops within Shell-branded petrol stations across Uganda, making eye care more accessible to communities nationwide.

The Lapaire marketing director Ms Roseline Kilonzo said the new Entebbe branch embodies the brand’s customer-centric, one-stop-shop approach, offering stylish eyewear at fair prices.
“One in every three people are in need of glasses, given that 70% of our customers are new time wearers, that means there's even more people that need glasses than we might think, vision is a very key part of the day-to-day life and we believe that everyone has the right to see well and how we're doing that is by providing free eye testing in all of our locations”.

Mr Keneth Twinamatsiko, Lapaire Uganda’s Operations Manager said the company is opening optical shops in key areas to bring quality eye care closer to people across the country who perceive eye care as both expensive and difficult to access.
“Lapaire is one of the few optical brands in Uganda that actively supports and runs road safety initiatives and campaigns, especially for motorists. We believe that our collaboration with Vivo Energy will not only support our expansion but also help raise awareness of the importance of eye care,” he said.