WORLD BLINDNESS AWARENESS MONTH:

The Tragedy of Avoidable Blindness
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 180 million people worldwide are visually disabled and 40-45 million of them are blind. About 90 percent of the world's blind live in developing countries. 80% of the world's blindness is avoidable, preventable or treatable with available interventions. Cataract is responsible for nearly 50% of world blindness.

This could be largely eliminated if people had access to sight saving medical and surgical care. Due to the lack of eye care throughout the world, every five seconds a person will go blind with a child going blind every minute.

• Cataracts
• Trachoma
• Onchocerciasis
• childhood blindness
• uncorrected refractive errors

Cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens that obstructs the passage of light, are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. They usually develop as part of the aging process; however, they can result from eye injuries, certain diseases (diabetes) and genetic inheritance. Although cataracts cannot be prevented, once cataracts impair vision, they can be removed through cataract surgery. However, many people in developing countries don’t have access to this sight-saving treatment.

Trachoma is a chronic and contagious infection of the eyelid and cornea spread by contact with eye discharge from an infected individual and/or bacteria transmitted by an insect. There are currently 5.6 million people blind, visually impaired or at immediate risk of going blind from trachoma, making it responsible for 15 percent of the world’s blindness.

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of the black fly that thrives in fertile riverside areas. It is estimated that more 270,000 are blind from river blindness.

Childhood blindness may be caused by vitamin A deficiency, measles infection or other deficiencies has left more than 1.5 million children blind. The ways to combat childhood blindness include vitamin A supplements and making primary eye care and education readily available.

Refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia, are disorders - they are not diseases. To ensure the more than 135 million people worldwide who are visually impaired are able to correct their refractive errors, refractive services, corrective glasses and low vision services need to be affordable and available to everyone.