Epidemiology of Childhood Blindness in Somalia: Why is Trauma the Most Common Cause?

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence and causes of blindness among pediatric patients in Somalia and to identify preventable and treatable causes. Methods: In this hospital-based, cross-sectional, descriptive study, a total of 1045 children under 16 years of age who applied to the ophthalmology clinic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Somalia Mogadishu Training and Research Hospital between November 2019 and February 2020 were included and their findings were recorded. Results: Of the 1045 children who applied to the ophthalmology clinic, 40 (3.8%) had unilateral blindness and 14 (1.3%) had bilateral blindness. Of these 54 patients, 32 (59.2%) were boys and 22 (40.8%) were girls. The age group in which blindness was most common in both boys and girls was 0-6 years old (24, 44.5%). The main causes of blindness were traumatic complications (25%), cataracts (20.6%) and cornea! opacity (16.2%). The most common causes of bilateral blindness were cataracts (35.7%), glaucoma (21.4%), corneal opacity (13.3%) and retinal disorders (13.3%). Conclusion: Corneal scarring still appears to be an important problem in children in Somalia due to vitamin A deficiency and measles infection. Trauma-related complications appear to be the most common cause of unilateral blindness as a result of long-standing internal conflict and bomb actions in the country.