To help improve and sustain quality eye care in the country, Guinness Nigeria Plc has donated the sum of N5 million to the Eye Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Speaking at the handing over of the money to the hospital administrators, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LUTH, Professor Christopher Bode, said that he was thrilled with the brewer’s association with the sustenance of the eye centre for over 50 years. He added that the centre would continue to deliver quality eye care to patients in the years to come.

“The gem that was sown many years ago has grown into a mighty oak that has trained over 100 specialist doctors, many medical students and other sundry healthcare workers. This eye centre is a living testimony to the values that Guinness espouses as a strong Nigerian brand. They have stayed this course with us over the years and I can boldly say that Guinness has a veritable legacy in LUTH. I would like to encourage other corporate bodies to follow this mark which Guinness has laid, and adopt various departments in our hospital,” Bode said.

CMD, LUTH, Prof. Christopher Bode, Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria, Sesan Sobowale and HOD, Guinness Eye Centre, LUTH, Prof Folasade Akinsola

Speaking at the event, Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Sosan Sobowale, noted that the donation was part of the company’s commitment to supporting the Guinness Eye Centres in sustenance of its original vision and to ensure that the facility remains the reference point in the provision of excellent eye care in Nigeria’s health sector.

“Our relationship with the hospital is a long one. It is worthy to note that many years after the establishment of the LUTH Guinness Eye centre, it has continued to receive commendations from different parts of the world. At Guinness, our vision has always been to make a positive difference in society. We believe passionately that when we help Nigerians preserve their sight, we not only deliver quality eye care but we also contribute to the socio-economic development of Nigeria”, he said.

He added that “It is our hope that this gesture would enhance the capacity of the Eye Centre to serve many more Nigerians. We will strive to do more with a view to creating a healthy society that improves the overall development of the nation”.

The first Guinness Eye Centre was built and commissioned in Kaduna in 1962, well before the official opening of the company’s first brewery in Ikeja, Lagos. Since then, the company has built two other eye centres; one in Onitsha in 1984 and the Eye Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in 1992.