By Anan Geolengs
Sightsavers has urged the media to reframe reporting on eye health and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) from charity and event-based coverage to development and rights-based narratives.
The NGO made the call recently in Keffi, Nasarawa State, during a media roundtable on inclusive health reporting.
Specifically, Programme Officer, Eye Health, Joshua Ibenu, said how the media frames disability determines public perception and policy attention.
“For us, how we see issues from a clinical perspective is all about how we frame the problem and the effect of the problem,” he said.
He said if disability is seen as a niche run by a department and only about outreaches and trainings, the media would fail to see its development aspect and how inclusion could improve the economy, education and livelihoods.
“What the media can do is change the framing of the problem. Instead of saying 100 persons with disabilities were given support, you can say government was able to improve the lives of persons with disabilities by providing business support so they can support their families.
“Let’s tell the economy, the education, the livelihood story,” Ibenu said.
He cited how referral systems improved after 500 Community Health Extension Workers were trained, and how an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project created new digital jobs for persons with disabilities.
“That is a development story, not just about distributing items on a day,” he said.
Ibenu called on the media to prioritise stories that encourage early treatment, challenge misconceptions and influence public policy.
He said eye health should be framed as an economic and productivity issue, not just a medical one.
“For every one dollar invested in eye health, there is immediate return in productivity. If a person in a household cannot see, at least one other person has to support them. The child misses school, the adult cannot work,” he said.
He said many Nigerians live with avoidable blindness due to misconceptions about surgery.
“People hear surgery and assume we will tear the eye open. A man told his mother about cataract surgery for years, and when she finally went, it was done in 20 minutes. If we frame the positives, people will come for treatment,” he said.
He recommended annual eye checks, noting that conditions like glaucoma have no early symptoms, while cataract treatment can restore sight almost completely.
He also urged governments to increase investment in eye health amid dwindling donor funding, stressing that co-financing and state budgetary commitment were critical for sustainability.
Also speaking, Technical Manager, SAFE, Grace Ajeye, said NTDs affect some of Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities but rarely make national headlines.
She said awareness remains low compared to malaria, noting that many Nigerians are still unfamiliar with NTDs.
She urged media organisations to make NTDs a constant feature in programming beyond World NTD Day.
“Awareness is still a very important part of NTD elimination. If you ask about malaria, everybody knows. But if you ask about NTDs, many don’t know.
“We need to fill that space with information — what are the issues, what is the progress, what are the challenges,” she said.
Ajeye called for aggressive, countrywide awareness on funding, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), diagnosis and sustainability to meet the 2030 elimination targets.
On sanitation, she said reinfection remains a major challenge, as children treated for NTDs return to unhygienic environments.
“We can keep identifying cases and treating children, but as long as our environments are not clean, that is where infection starts.
“We have 774 local governments in Nigeria, only about 22 per cent, about 170, are Open Defecation Free. Jigawa is the only state where all LGAs are ODF, but we are still seeing persistence,” she said.
She said poor sanitation creates a cycle of infection, particularly in schools, and called on the media to spotlight open defecation, poor waste management and the need for government investment in WASH.
She added that NTD indicators should be integrated into the routine health reporting system to improve data and planning.
Senior Finance and Logistics Officer, Fabian Tukmen, said persons with disabilities continue to face barriers to employment, financial inclusion and accessibility in public buildings, schools, hospitals and airports.
He said Nigeria has policies and laws, including the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, and the National Accessibility Regulation, but implementation remains weak.
“The problem is not the absence of policy, the problem is implementation and awareness. How many states have domesticated these policies? How many public buildings are accessible?” he queried.
Country Advocacy Coordinator, Esther Bature, urged the media to play its watchdog role in tracking the five per cent employment quota, monitoring accessibility compliance and moving from charity model to rights-based reporting.
“Disability is not caused by impairment alone, it is caused by barriers. Once that barrier is removed, persons with disabilities thrive. Our society is not designed to accommodate persons with disabilities, and that needs media attention through storytelling and practical reporting,” she said.
She called on the media to spotlight workplace innovations, accessibility audits and success stories of persons with disabilities in digital jobs, internships and permanent employment to inspire employers and the private sector.
They urged media partners to sustain campaigns on inclusive health, disability inclusion and NTDs beyond commemorative days and to hold duty bearers accountable for service delivery.
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