Prevalence and Causes of Childhood Blindness at Guinness Eye Centre, Onitsha, Anambra State, South East Nigeria

Childhood blindness represents a major public health and social burden in Nigeria, and its prevention requires accurate epidemiological data disaggregated by cause and setting. The Guinness Eye Centre in Onitsha, Anambra State, serves as a major tertiary ophthalmology facility for South East Nigeria. This study examines the prevalence and anatomical causes of childhood blindness among patients under 16 years managed at the centre over a five-year period from 2018 to 2022. A retrospective descriptive design is applied to clinic registers and ophthalmic assessment records. Variables include patient age, sex, visual acuity, cause of blindness classified by anatomical site, avoidable versus unavoidable categorisation, and any surgical or medical intervention performed. SPSS is used for descriptive statistics. Available childhood blindness literature from South East Nigeria identifies corneal scarring from measles, congenital cataract, retinopathy of prematurity, and phthisis bulbi as the leading causes in this region. The WHO BCVA criteria and the Gilbert and Foster anatomical classification of childhood blindness provide the analytical framework. Findings will support the centre in prioritising surgical case-finding programmes for congenital cataract and in advocating for measles vaccination coverage improvements in underserved communities. Keywords: childhood blindness, corneal scarring, congenital cataract, Onitsha, South East Nigeria.