Over 1.1 billion people live with sight loss globally, yet for 90% of them this is treatable or preventable. Solving this problem is a global challenge for all of us. By coming together on World Sight Day, you are part of a movement to create a world where everyone has access to the eye care they need to thrive.
Blindness and visual impairment from conditions like strabismus, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and retinopathy of prematurity can be entirely prevented or treated if caught early. Trachoma can be cured with a simple dose of antibiotics, and cataracts can be eliminated in a quick 20-minute surgery. These sight-saving interventions are within reach, yet millions still suffer with sight loss and blindness unnecessarily.
This is where Orbis and the eye health community step in. Through exchanging skills with eye health professionals all over the world and strengthening the quality of eye care systems in communities where it is needed the most. We can reduce blindness and visual impairment from avoidable causes, and the negative effects that come with it for generations.
World Sight Day is hosted by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness with a different theme each year to raise awareness of this important global health issue.
