Should glaucoma be public funded in Nigeria? Background, justification, and the study overview

Abstract

Many Nigeria's individuals with glaucoma are losing vision because they cannot afford glaucoma treatment. A work, “Should glaucoma be public funded in Nigeria?,” was conducted and written into articles. The objective of this article was to present the work's background, glaucoma overview, research question, rationale, and overview of the work. The work is an ethical (normative) study advocating public-funded glaucoma treatment. Relevant literatures were reviewed and cited. The rationale for the study includes inability of individuals with glaucoma to afford treatment, poor treatment compliance due to poverty, absent universal healthcare insurance, and negative impact of glaucoma on quality life. The work overview includes strong rebuttal of oppositions to public-funded glaucoma treatment; adverse effect of glaucoma on visual function domains, quality of life, daily activities, health, education, economy, and work; three-level budgetary glaucoma funding – macro, meso, and micro-allocations vis–a-vis a justice-based glaucoma funding through a two-tiered healthcare system, namely, tier-one providing basic universal health care for glaucoma at no cost at the point of delivery and tier-two covering all imaginable glaucoma care but at the client's expense are suggested.