In an effort to raise global awareness about vision impairment and blindness, the International Association for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared October 8 World Sight Day. In the third year of  their theme “Universal Eye Care,” the focus is Eye Care for All.

The mandate for “eye care for all” is to educate and promote to the public that blindness and vision impairment are serious health issues that span the globe. Through the participation in World Sight Day (WSD), the hope is to engage government officials responsible for healthcare and to have them fund and participate in programs for national blindness prevention awareness.

 

Several points relating to educating the public about unnecessary vision loss internationally have been culled to help provide guidance for those participating in this year’s WSD:

 

– Low vision or blindness affects roughly 285 million people across the globe. – While approximately 246 million suffer from moderate to severe vision loss, 39 million are blind. – Countries with low incomes hold 90 percent of the persons who are blind. – As many as 80 percent of people who have become blind could have had treatment or preventative measures. – Blindness prevention …