Call to Action for World Sight Day is 'Eye Care for All'

With 80% of visual impairment being avoidable, WHO called for reducing the prevalence of avoidable blindness and visual impairment by 25% within 2019.

To know the value of sight, ask someone who just lost his or her sight. The eye is the window to the body, as well as the door, to the physical world.

World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment and is co-ordinated by The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the VISION 2020 Global Initiative.

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Community Educational Centre Society (CECS) in partnership with Hans Foundation observed World Sight Day 2015 at CEC School Grace colony Nagarjan. The program included free eye check up and powerpoint awareness on WSD. Presentation also included various eye disorders and measures and steps for healthy eye care.

The WHO Global Action Plan (GAP) for the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment 2014-2019 emphasizes on improving eye health for everyone and reducing the prevalence of avoidable blindness and visual impairment by 25 percent by the year 2019, she said.

More than 50 percent of all blindness is caused by cataract which accounts for 33 percent of visual impairment, the WHO said, adding that these statistics should be viewed against the fact that 80 percent of visual impairment is avoidable.

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World Sight Day is being observed with a focus on 'eye care for all.' The South East Asia Region has an estimated 12 million blind people including 8 million from India.

Source-Medindia

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