The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria (ODORBN) has called on eye care professionals in Nigeria to join hands in the fight against quackery.
Prof. Ebele Uzodike, Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of ODORBN, made the call at the 4th National Conference and Vision Expo of Nigerian Optometric Association on Saturday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day conference had “Quality Eye care: Economic and Security Impact of ChadOVID-19’’, as its theme.
According to her, the board alone cannot totally eradicate quacks in the profession.
“ODORBN is the regulatory body, committed to the delivery of quality eye care services in Nigeria by ensuring that only qualified Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians are allowed to practice and in accordance with the ethics of the profession.
“We have done this and will continue to do so through our routine inspection and monitoring activities across the federation.
“”Although the fight against quackery in eye care delivery is a continuous one, we can only achieve a total eradication of quacks in the profession if all hands are on deck to fight the menace,’’ she said.
Uzodike said that the delivery of quality eye care services was greatly hampered by economic hardship as well as security challenges.
She said the COVID-19 restrictions and the attendant security challenges had hampered the inspection and monitoring activities of the board adding that the board had yet to fully resume its monitoring activities.
She said: “certainly some unscrupulous quacks could have cashed in on this and continue to perpetrate their nefarious activities of unwholesome practices.
“This is no doubt an impact of COVID-19 on delivery of quality eye care services.”
She said after the board made 70 per cent success from its first national tasks force in 2015, it had not relaxed on the fight.
The registrar said that the board was working hard to get the remaining 30 per cent in order to ensure every citizen’s vision was safe from the hands of the quacks.
She, therefore, advised those not qualified but interested in the profession to go to school, saying they would be inducted at the end.
Uzodike urged Nigerians to patronise only qualified professionals for their eye care services. (NAN)
