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Purpose: The purpose was to estimate the prevalence of blindness due to cataract, assess visual outcomes of cataract surgery, and determine the cataract surgical coverage rate and barriers to uptake of services among individuals aged 50 years or older in Plateau State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional survey of 4200 adults 50 years or older was performed. Multistage stratified random sampling, with probability proportional to size was used to select a representative sample. The Rapid Assessment of Cataract Surgical Services protocol was used. Statistical significance was indicated by (P < 0.05). Results: The cohort comprised 4115 subjects (coverage: 98%). The prevalence of bilateral blindness due to cataract was 2.1%, [95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.7-2.5%] in the entire cohort, 2.4% in females (95% CI: 1.8-3.8%); and 1.8% in males (95% CI: 1.2-2.4%) (X2-0.85,P> 0.05). The prevalence of monocular blindness due to cataract was 5.9% (95% CI: 5.2-6.6%). The cataract surgical coverage for subjects with visual acuity (VA) less 3/60 was 53.8% in the entire cohort; 60.5% for males and 48% for females (X2 = 2.49, P > 0.05). The couching coverage for subjects who were blind was 12%. A total of 180 eyes underwent surgical intervention (surgery or couching) for cataract, of which, 48 (26.7%) eyes underwent couching. The prevalence of bilateral (pseudo) aphakia was 1.5%, (95% CI: 1.2-1.9%) and 2.7% (95% CI: 2.2-3.2%) for unilateral (pseudo) aphakia. Visual outcomes of the 180 eyes that underwent surgical intervention were good (VA ⩾ 6/18) in 46 (25.6%) eyes and poor (VA < 6/60) in 105 (58.3%) eyes. Uncorrected aphakia was the most common cause of poor outcome (65.1%). Most subjects who underwent cataract surgery were not using spectacles 74 (71.2%). Cost and lack of awareness were the main barriers to uptake of cataract surgery services. Conclusion: Couching remains a significant challenge in Nigeria. The outcomes of cataract surgery are poor with the lack of aphakic correction being the main cause of the poor outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine visual status of children with special needs attending special schools in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria., Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study of all children with special needs attending special education schools in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area, Cross River State, was performed. Data were obtained using interviewer-administered questionnaires on the caregivers and ocular examination of the children which included visual acuity, refraction, ocular alignment and motility tests and funduscopy. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20., Results: A total of 161 children with special needs out of the 176 enrolled were examined yielding a 91.5% response rate. The male-to-female ratio was 1.2:1. Their age range was 5-17 years with the mean age of 12.9 ± 3.3 years and a modal age group of ≥13 years. Twenty (12.4%) had visual impairment (VI). Uncorrected refractive error accounted for 12 (60%) of the VI. Children with learning disability (odds ratio [OR]: 3.28 and 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.73-6.36) and developmental disability (OR: 1.90 and 95% CI: 1.10-3.20), respectively, had significantly higher occurrence of VI. Of the 161 children examined, only 11 (6.8%) have had their visual status assessed in the past., Conclusion: Children with special needs had higher prevalence of VI; however, only a few have had an assessment of their visual status in the past., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest