Dar es Salaam. As the online sale of fashion spectacles and frames continues to rise, Tanzania’s Ministry of Health has issued a warning, calling for tighter controls to protect the public from eye damage caused by unqualified sellers.
The Ministry has proposed that business licences for selling spectacles — including so-called fashion eyewear and sunglasses — should only be issued to traders who present a registration certificate from the Ministry of Health. The aim is to prevent untrained individuals from selling products that may harm eyesight.
The Registrar of the Optometry Council at the Ministry of Health, Mr Sebastiano Millanzi, said the move follows inspections conducted in Temeke, Kigamboni and Kinondoni districts on March 27, 2026.
During the exercise, officials visited 14 eye-care centres, including registered facilities and others that had started operating while still undergoing registration.
They also inspected 33 suppliers of medical equipment such as frames, corrective lenses and sunglasses, and found that only 10 had official offices and valid licences, while 23 were street vendors.
Mr Millanzi said many people wrongly treat spectacles as fashion items, despite their medical importance.
“There is no such thing as ‘fashion spectacles’ in the commercial sense. Every pair of glasses serves a professional function in the body,” he said.
He also warned about the growing use of cosmetic contact lenses and sunglasses without proper professional assessment, noting that such products may hide symptoms of serious eye conditions such as glaucoma, delaying treatment while damage continues.
The inspection further revealed that some optometry practitioners were exceeding their professional responsibilities by treating conditions that require specialist referral, while others were selling medicines against established procedures.
One centre was reportedly shut down for operating without a qualified professional and offering services outside optometry.
A local eyewear trader, Ms Sheiba Kassim, urged authorities to provide traders with education before taking enforcement action, saying many sellers believe they are only helping customers reduce sunlight or computer glare.
Meanwhile, Dr Gunini Kamba, speaking on behalf of the Dar es Salaam Regional Medical Officer, said follow-up inspections will continue to ensure compliance, while registration procedures for qualified facilities will be fast-tracked to reduce bureaucracy.
