About Us

History

The Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Ilorin is part of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences in the College of Health Sciences. Since its inception, it has significantly contributed to the training of medical students, resident doctors, and other allied health professionals in conjunction with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.

The department boasts some of the best staff across all levels of eye care in Nigeria. It has made substantial contributions to community service, development research, training, and the administration of postgraduate medical training at the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Surgeons. Its training programs have gained international recognition, and the department has provided residency and post-residency fellowship training to colleagues from other African countries. Numerous collaborative international publications, book chapters, and books have originated from the department.

At the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, the department offers specialized and superspecialized services accessed from all parts of the country. These services include screening babies born prematurely for retinopathy of prematurity to prevent lifetime blindness, providing top-notch care for retinoblastoma, sickle cell retinopathy, diabetic retinopathy, oculoplasty, and glaucoma.

The department’s staff have utilized various grants from Sight Savers International, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), TETFUND, and XOVA to train health workers and community volunteers. These grants have enabled vision screening for children, adults, and families at community health centers and immunization clinics. Through community development groups and associations, the department continues to provide community-based eye care services beyond the boundaries.

At the community level, the department regularly provides “gown to town” services and facilitated the first-of-its-kind “Kwara Childhood Sight Protection Law 2014.” It developed easy-to-use Teacher Led Vision Screening Kits (TELVIS), which have been used to screen over 300,000 children by teachers and community key informants. Additionally, the department has developed a vision screening and eye care app and serves as a major research center for various eye conditions. In the Kwara Eye Care Program, the department collaborated with Sight Savers International to offer routine community services and outreaches to hard-to-reach communities in Kwara State and beyond, including Osun, Kogi, and Oyo States.