For many people, changes in eyesight are easy to dismiss as fatigue, age or the strain of everyday life. But behind what may appear to be a minor change in vision can be a retinal disease quietly progressing towards irreversible sight loss.
The concern comes as Kenya faces a growing burden of retinal disorders, with experts warning that limited awareness and delayed detection could leave patients seeking care only after significant damage has occurred.
The issue was highlighted during a retinal disease awareness media breakfast in Nairobi, where eye-care specialists and Bayer Sub-Saharan Africa called for greater awareness, earlier screening and stronger access to specialised eye care.
The retina is a light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that converts light into signals interpreted by the brain. When damaged, it can affect everyday activities including reading, recognising faces, driving, working and navigating safely. Many retinal diseases also require ongoing monitoring, making early detection and continuity of care important.
According to Dr Mahesh Chandargi, a vitreoretinal surgeon and medical director at Lions SightFirst Eye Hospital in Nairobi, retinal disorders are a major cause of visual disability and can affect people from newborns to the elderly. The conditions highlighted included diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, retinopathy of prematurity, retinal detachments and other retinal disorders.
The presentations noted that retinal disease can manifest differently from one patient to another. Some people may experience painless, slow loss of vision or have no symptoms initially, while others can experience sudden or painful changes in vision. In diabetic retinopathy, for example, early stages may have no symptoms, while later stages can cause blurry vision or floaters.
For conditions such as diabetic macular oedema, central details may become blurred or wavy, colour perception may appear dull and reading or driving can become harder. In age-related macular degeneration, central vision can become blurred or missing, while straight lines may appear wavy or crooked.
Kenya’s growing diabetes burden adds to the concern. The briefing cited International Diabetes Federation data showing that about 813,000 adults in Kenya were living with diabetes in 2024, with diabetes identified as a key risk factor for diabetic eye disease.
“Protecting vision is essential to preserving quality of life, independence and well-being. Improving access to care requires continued collaboration across the healthcare system to ensure that patients can receive the support they need throughout their treatment journey," said Dr Jack Kileba, Medical Governance and Excellence Lead at Bayer for Sub-Saharan Africa
The meeting also highlighted Kenya’s ageing population and the increasing need for age-related eye-care services, alongside retinopathy of prematurity affecting newborns.
Despite the need, retinal health can receive less attention compared with other eye conditions. The briefing identified awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability as major challenges facing retinal care in Kenya.
Specialised retinal care requires expertise and diagnostic equipment such as OCT scans, B-scan ultrasound, ophthalmoscopes and lenses, as well as treatment options including laser procedures, intravitreal injections and surgery. The presentation indicated that specialist expertise and retinal centres remain concentrated, citing around 10 experts and seven centres in Kenya, mainly in Nairobi.
For patients outside these centres, access can mean long travel distances, the need for companions, missed working days and repeated journeys for treatment and follow-up. The financial burden can become heavier for patients requiring long-term care. Limited insurance reach and coverage, together with reliance on out-of-pocket payments, were identified as additional barriers.
The patient journey does not end with diagnosis. It can move through screening, diagnosis, referral, treatment initiation and ongoing monitoring, with cost, distance, referral delays, adherence and follow-up creating points where patients can fall out of care.
Late presentation remains a concern, with the briefing noting that patients often arrive at advanced stages because of the challenges surrounding early detection and access. Treatment dropouts and patients lost to follow-up were also highlighted, with incomplete treatment potentially contributing to permanent vision loss and irreversible low vision, as well as loss of employment and independence.
Stakeholders say the response must involve government, healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical companies, NGOs and other partners. Proposed measures include strengthening training, upgrading facilities, expanding diagnostic capacity, using low-cost and portable equipment, making treatment more affordable and effective, empowering county and Level 5 hospitals, creating awareness among patients and medical personnel, and improving screening and timely referrals.
The emphasis is on catching disease within the “golden window”, ensuring that awareness leads to screening, screening to diagnosis, diagnosis to referral and treatment, and treatment to continued monitoring.
Bayer says it is supporting a partnership approach centred on awareness, stronger referral and follow-up pathways, capacity building and conversations around sustainable affordability. The company also positions itself as a partner in science, medical education, stakeholder dialogue and patient-centred access solutions.
Bayer East Africa has been part of Kenya’s business and healthcare landscape since 1968, with Kenya also serving as a regional platform for the company.
The company’s position is that scientific innovation alone is not enough. Advances in retinal science, research, imaging and screening can support earlier detection and better decision-making, but their impact depends on whether patients can reach care, continue treatment and benefit from stronger health systems.
Saida Adan, a representative of Axios, also emphasised the importance of collaboration in improving patient outcomes. “Meaningful progress happens when stakeholders work together to improve patient care. Strengthening partnerships across the healthcare system can help address barriers to access and contribute to better outcomes for patients living with retinal disease,” she remarked.
The briefing further emphasised the role of media in making retinal disease more visible by helping communities understand the importance of early diagnosis while keeping access, affordability and continuity of care in public conversation.
Ultimately, protecting sight requires more than treatment. It requires people to recognise risk, access screening, receive timely referrals and remain connected to care.
For Kenya, making retinal health less invisible could mean protecting not only vision, but also independence, livelihoods and quality of life. The message from the discussions is clear: if fewer Kenyans are to lose vision unnecessarily, action must come earlier, patients must be connected to care better, and the different parts of the healthcare system must work together more deliberately.
