The Mission for Vision Eye Centre operating under the auspices of the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation has appealed to the Cross River State Government to intervene in their equipment and Infrastructural needs to enable them to expand and upgrade the current Eye Clinic to a full Eye Hospital.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Honourable Commissioner for Information,Cross River State,Dr Erasmus Ekpang,in his office in Calabar,the Programme Manager of Mission for Vision,Tulsi Chanrai Foundation,Mr Richard Silvestre,said the appeal for support is predicated on the huge turn out of Eye Patients from across the Eighteen Local Government Areas of the State as well as from South-South and South East State,emphasizing available facilities are already over stretched.
"Currently,we are daily inundated with one eye challenge to another.In a week,we attend to over five hundred patients, including referrals,Mr Sylvester pointed out,adding that there is an urgent need for expansion.
"One of our biggest problem is Power supply which is not regular.The small generator we rely on for alternative power source can only carry lighting points.It can not our testing machines and Air Conditioners which are very critical to our operations",the Mission for Vision Programme Manager quipped
Mr Richard Silvestre lauded Governor Bassey Edet Otu for placing high premium on health matters, acknowledging the Governor's intervention through the Commissioner for Lands and the office of the Surveyor General of the State saved them from been thrown out of their current residence provided during the Governor Donald Duke led administration who brought the Foundation into the State.
He urged the State Government to expedite action in the renovation of the newly allocated residential accommodation, stressing that they have living at the mercy of a former Commissioner for Health who has continued to extend the quit notices.
In his remarks, the Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang commended the Mission for Vision Programme in the State, noting that over the last twenty years, they have touched the lives of many families, assuring Governor Otu is a passionate advocate for health and a healthy society.
Dr Ekpang said the Mission for Vision initiatives is one which Governor Otu will never hesitate to work with, promising to interface with the Commissioner for Health, Dr Egbe Syuk, under whose purview the matter directly under.
The Information Commissioner applauded the Mission for Vision team, stating that they will work together to initiate an outreach in his constituency for the benefits of those with eye problems.
Benedict Okache
