For the past six years, Ewurama Annan has been living with significant visual impairments. She is completely blind in her left eye and experiences what she describes as extremely blurry vision in her right eye, making daily life a challenge.
Despite losing sight in one eye and struggling with deteriorating vision in the other, she has not yet consulted an ophthalmologist for proper diagnosis or potential treatment.
The condition comes with persistent burning sensation in her eyes and sometimes headaches.
She blames her inability to visit the hospital on financial constraints and rather relies on over the counter painkillers and eye drops for temporary relief.
It is very common to find women living in coastal communities in Ghana smoking fish, using rudimentary wood fired ovens.
This process exposes the women to extreme smoke, especially the women who smoke in enclosed shed.
Ms Annan, who is 65-years-old, and resides in Winneba, Central Region of Ghana uses the same process to smoke fish for sale. This business has been her only source of livelihood for over three decades.
Sharing her story with the Ghanaian Times she said she started experiencing the discomfort in her eyes a decade ago, “even when I am no where close to the oven, I feel pain in my eyes.”
She acknowledged that she is well aware her symptoms likely stem from prolonged exposure to smoke from her traditional oven and revealed that before she completely lost sight in her left eye, she had blurry vision in both eyes, which gradually worsened over time.
She explained that as her condition deteriorated, she eventually lost all vision in her left eye, leaving her with only her right eye, which continues to provide limited, blurry vision.
The proceeds from the fish, according to Ms Annan, who is a divorcee, is only enough to feed her family so she could not afford to set some aside to visit the hospital for her eyes to be checked.
She admitted being aware that she could eventually lose sight in her right eye as well.
She has seen others experience similar symptoms, with blurred vision gradually leading to complete blindness, and fears the same fate may be in store for her.
Though fear creeps in, she refuses to let it consume her. Without money for a hospital visit, she postpones treatment, hoping to go later.
Despite her worsening condition, she said she continues to serve her few customers, with her grandchildren stepping up to help.
Through the struggles to see, she manages to supervise the teenagers as they sort and arrange the fresh fish for smoking.
She mentioned that with a few loyal customers, she and her children could at least afford one meal a day.
Health experts have cautioned that prolonged daily exposure to wood smoke could lead to serious health issues, including the potential for permanent eye damage.
Despite this, there is very low awareness creation in coastal communities of Ghana about this risk.
The lack of effective awareness campaigns leaves many of these women attributing their health problems to superstitions, witchcraft and curses.
According to an opinion leader in th area, Nana Kofi Nkansah, some of the blind women resort to prayer camps instead of seeking medical treatment.
He said they spend months at these camps, hoping for miracles to restore their vision or cure their ailments.
“Unfortunately, by the time they realise the need for professional medical help, it is often too late,” he added.
He said once these blind women lose their sight they are unable to fend for themselves. “They end up becoming a burden to their already impoverished families and end up being blind and destitute.”
Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT)
Despite their long years of working these women do not have any insurance that can cushion them in the event of any misfortune or during their old age.
They work tirelessly for decades only to end up in abject poverty and sometimes blind and abandoned.
56-year-old Maame Adjoa Asabea who also smokes fish for a living told the Ghanaian Times that she had never heard of any institution called SSNIT.
She complained of frequent swollen eyes and blurry vision after spending hours in her enclosed shed smoking fish. She mentioned visiting the Winneba Hospital, where he received treatment and was prescribed medication, including eye drops.
However, she stated that each time she returned to her shed and resumed the fish smoking process, the eye irritation flares up again.
As a result, she indicated that her healthcare givers advised her to reduce the number of hours she spent smoking fish, to avoid worsening her eye condition.
Although she couldn’t recall her exact diagnosis, she remembered the ophthalmologist’s stern warning to take the advice seriously, especially since she had already started experiencing blurry vision.
This she said scared her “So presently I am planning to take a break from this risky business and venture into a safer one. I do not want to end up completely blind.”
SSNIT should focus on raising awareness of its retirement scheme among informal sector workers in coastal communities. By doing so, more women involved in the fish-smoking business can join the scheme, ensuring they have financial security in their old age, especially in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
SSNIT is open not only to government workers but to all citizens who wish to contribute to the trust. This valuable information could go a long way to help save these coastal women from hardship during their old age, especially when they go blind as a result of trying to put food on their tables or as a result of ignorance.
LIVELIHOOD EMPOWERMENT AGAINST POVERTY (LEAP)
LEAP is also an initiative by the government targeting extremely poor individuals.
One of its main objectives is to improve basic household consumption and nutrition among children below 2 years of age, the aged (65 years and above without productive capacity) and people with severe disability. However some persons who deserve to be beneficiaries of this grant do not get to benefit from it, including some of these blind women left in abject poverty.
There is the need for more attention to be given to coastal communities across the country to identify these poor blind women and alleviate their sufferings. Some are dying slowly not just because of their blindness and other health conditions but also because of hunger and depression.
Reacting to the plight of the blind women in the Winneba coastal community, the head of LEAP Management Secretariat at the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection Dr Myles Ongoh said before anyone can benefit from LEAP they must first be identified and confirmed and taken through certain assessments, to be able to receive payments to alleviate their economic burdens.
The LEAP programme he said underscores the importance of not only identifying the vulnerable but also ensuring they are informed and actively engaged in the process, so they can benefit from the support designed to uplift them from extreme poverty.
Unfortunately, he explained that many remain uninformed about the assistance available, adding that this gap in awareness is a significant barrier, preventing the women from accessing the support they desperately need.
“Our efforts in moving around the country to enumerate households are vital, but the success of these programmes hinges on effective communication and outreach to ensure all eligible individuals are aware and can take advantage of the opportunities available to them,” he added.
Only by shining a spotlight on these marginalised women and ensuring they are fully aware of and included in social protection programmes can we begin to address the deep-seated issues of poverty and vulnerability among the aged in coastal communities like Winneba.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU