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World Sight Day

Raising eye health awareness

There are 43 million people in the world who are blind and 217 million people who have moderate to severe distance vision impairment (MSVI). Out of all these cases, 90% of blindness and vision loss is preventable or treatable. That’s why World Sight Day is so important when it comes to raising global awareness about eye health.

COVER PHOTO: Michael Amendolia (2018)


Table of contents


What is World Sight Day?

World Sight Day is an important day in the eye health calendar. It is an annual awareness day that is observed on the second Thursday of October every year. 

World Sight Day aims to focus global attention on blindness, vision impairment and eye care.

World Sight Day is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the global initiative VISION 2020: The Right to Sight. 

VISION 2020: The Right to Sight was launched in 1999 and seeks to promote “a world in which nobody is needlessly visually impaired, where those with unavoidable vision loss can achieve their full potential.”

Since the year 2000, the IAPB has coordinated World Sight Day. Since then, it has been celebrated in many ways around the world.  

Each year a different theme is chosen by IAPB as an area of focus for advocacy and awareness, and members and supporting organisations organise events and celebrations. 

This year’s theme is Love your eyes and the key call to action is that Everyone counts. Nearly everyone on the planet will experience an eye health issue in their lifetime and more than a billion people worldwide do not have access to eye care services. To address the bigger picture at the country and global level, we need to be aware of our own eye health, and have regular eye checks.

There are loads of ways you can join the World Sight Day 2021 celebrations by taking part in activities such as:

  • Sharing a post on social media in support of World Sight Day, using the hashtags #WorldSightDayAU and #Loveyoureyes
  • Encouraging your loved ones to look after their eyes by getting their eyes tested
  • Organising your own World Sight Day event


What is the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)?

The IAPB was established in 1975 to lead international efforts in blindness prevention activities.

It is an alliance of civil society organisations, corporates and professional bodies promoting eye health through advocacy, knowledge and partnerships.

IAPB’s mission is to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness and visual impairment by facilitating the planning, development and implementation of sustainable eye health programs.


How does The Fred Hollows Foundation work with IAPB?

The Fred Hollows Foundation is an active member of the IAPB and works closely with the agency to fulfil Fred’s vision of a world in which nobody is needlessly blind or vision impaired.

The Foundation is focused on preventing blindness and restoring sight, working in developing countries and in remote and regional Australian communities to ensure that everyone can exercise their right to sight.
 

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How do we work?

Our priority is to work with communities to improve their own eye health. We do this through:
 
  1. Funding and facilitating life-changing surgeries and treatments
  2. Training doctors, nurses, and clinical and community eye health workers
  3. Strengthening health systems through advocacy and influence
  4. Engaging with local communities and empowering them to take their eye health in their own hands
  5. Investing in new technologies and piloting new approaches to deliver eye care more effectively
 

How do we deliver impact?

In order to deliver maximum impact, our work is driven by four critical eye care goals:
 
  1. Making effective treatment for cataract, which is a leading cause of blindness, accessible to all
  2. Eliminating trachoma, which is the leading infectious cause of blindness, from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as well as in countries where it is prevalent
  3. Making effective prevention and treatment for refractive error accessible for all
  4. Making diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is the leading cause of avoidable blindness in working class people, more affordable to manage
 


You can get involved

Here are a couple of ways you can make a difference each year on World Sight Day:

  1. Visit the IAPB website
  2. Donate to The Fred Hollows Foundation
     


 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Latika Mani - The Fred Hollows Foundation

Latika is a passionate digital content writer for The Fred Hollows Foundation with over 15 years of professional writing and message amplification experience. Latika is a firm believer in social justice and equity, and is committed to bringing awareness to global health care disparity in order to effect change and ensure everyone has the opportunity to exercise their right to sight.

Important eye health facts to keep in mind

Important eye health facts to keep in mind

The following facts were released by the IAPB and highlight the importance of World Sight Day:

  • 36 million people are blind worldwide
  • 217 million people suffer from moderate or severe distance vision impairment (MSVI) 
  • 124 million people have uncorrected refractive errors (of those with blindness and MSVI)
  • 65 million people have cataract (of those with blindness and MSVI)
  • More than 75% of all blindness and MSVI is avoidable
  • 89% of vision impaired people live in low and middle-income countries
  • 55% of moderate or severely vision impaired people are women
  • Top causes of visual impairment include refractive error, cataract and glaucoma
  • Top causes of blindness are cataract, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration
  • The number of people visually impaired from infectious diseases has greatly reduced in the last 20 years​