With over 23 million Nigerians currently living with some form of vision impairment, the Federal Government has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Peek Vision to accelerate efforts toward eliminating preventable blindness nationwide.

The agreement, signed in Abuja on Tuesday, aims to transform how people with vision challenges are identified, monitored, and connected to care—particularly in rural and underserved communities where avoidable blindness often goes undetected.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Adekunle Salako, who signed the MoU on behalf of the government, said the partnership represents a major step in expanding eye-care services to the last mile. He noted Nigeria’s long history of innovation in eye health, citing the DigiBola programme of the early 1990s in Lagos, which provided eyeglasses to thousands.

Salako explained that the digital tools introduced through the partnership will help health workers rapidly identify those in need and link them directly to treatment. He added that many Nigerians still avoid seeking help due to fear or misinformation, expressing optimism that the new initiative will improve communication, screening, and referral systems nationwide.

According to him, the project aligns with the government’s Renewable Health Connect agenda, which prioritizes school-based eye screening, cataract services, and the provision of corrective lenses.

He assured that the Ministry is fully committed to ensuring deployment of the technology to communities that have long been underserved.

Speaking at the signing, Prof. Andrew Bastawrous, Founder and CEO of Peek Vision, said the collaboration aims to reach millions of Nigerians living with avoidable vision loss but unable to access care. Many, he said, are unaware that their conditions are treatable or lack the means to pursue treatment even when they have the information.

Under the new arrangement, trained personnel will use smartphones and tablets to conduct accurate vision screening in homes, workplaces, and schools—removing the dependence on health facilities. Peek Vision’s data platform will also track every screened individual, monitor referrals, and identify reasons for missed appointments.

Bastawrous highlighted how similar data-led strategies in Kenya helped overcome barriers such as fear, myths, and cost. “The power of data is to point to the problem; the power of compassion is to respond,” he said.

He noted that the rollout in Nigeria begins immediately and does not require direct government funding. Peek Vision and its international partners—including Sightsavers, CBM, and Hands—will support programme implementation, while the Ministry will retain full ownership of the data.

A new Sightsavers-backed programme has already kicked off, screening 5,000 Nigerians and targeting 1.2 million schoolchildren over the next two years.

Bastawrous stressed that improved vision can significantly boost learning and productivity, citing simple solutions such as magnifying glasses that many people still cannot access. He warned that cataracts—Nigeria’s leading cause of blindness—remain fully treatable, yet many affected individuals may never receive care without systemic changes.

Globally, technology deployed by Peek Vision and its partners has already screened 17 million people and connected over 1.5 million to sight-restoring treatment.

“Today marks the beginning of a new journey to change that story for millions of Nigerians,” Bastawrous said.