World Sight Day

It has been said that “the eyes are the window to one’s soul”. 
The opposite can also be said that, your eyes are your window to the magnificent world around you.

World Sight Day on 99FM is proudly brought to you by Olympia Eye & Laser Centre.

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.

The facts:

• Approximately 285 million people worldwide live with low vision and blindness
• Of these, 39 million people are blind and 246 million have moderate or severe visual impairment
• 90% of blind people live in low-income countries
• Yet 80% of visual impairment is avoidable – i.e. readily treatable and/or preventable
• Restorations of sight, and blindness prevention strategies are among the most cost-effective interventions in health care
• The number of people blind from infectious causes has greatly reduced in the past 20 years
• An estimated 19 million children are visually impaired
• About 65 % of all people who are visually impaired are aged 50 and older, while this age group comprises only 20% of the world’s population
• Increasing elderly populations in many countries mean that more people will be at risk of age-related visual impairment.

What is blindness?

Blindness is the inability to see. The leading causes of chronic blindness include cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy and eye conditions in children (e.g. caused by vitamin A deficiency). Age-related blindness is increasing throughout the world, as is blindness due to uncontrolled diabetes. On the other hand, blindness caused by infection is decreasing, as a result of public health action.

Can I prevent blindness?

Three-quarters of all blindness can be prevented or treated.

Who is at risk?

Approximately 90% of visually impaired people live in developing countries.

People aged 50 and over

About 65 % of all people who are visually impaired are aged 50 and older, while this age group comprises about 20 % of the world’s population. With an increasing elderly population in many countries, more people will be at risk of visual impairment due to chronic eye diseases and ageing processes.

Children below age 15

An estimated 19 million children are visually impaired. Of these, 12 million children are visually impaired due to refractive errors, a condition that could be easily diagnosed and corrected. 1.4 million are irreversibly blind for the rest of their lives and need visual rehabilitation interventions for a full psychological and personal development.

What should you do?

Visit a professional  who can give you the correct diagnosis & condition for your treatment.

For more information or to book an appointment visit: Olympia Eye & Laser Centre

Eyesight information sourced from www.who.com