Monrovia, Feb. 13 -- In October, as part of World Sight Day celebrations, Liberia's National Eye Health Program made an exciting announcement: an ambitious program by the unit housed in the Ministry of Health promised to deliver badly needed help to Liberian students struggling with poor vision. The program was to screen 1,000 students and distribute 12,000 reading glasses.

According to a statement from Health Minister Dr. Louise Kpoto the program was a major step toward addressing widespread, untreated vision problems among schoolchildren which has been affecting learning outcomes nationwide.

But more than three months later, the ministry has yet to release a detailed, public breakdown showing how many glasses were distributed, raising...