- Every year World Sight Day is observed on the second Thursday of October. Its main Motto is to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. It was started initially by the Sight First Campaign of the Lions Club International Foundation in 2000.
- It is coordinated by the IAPB (International Agency For The Prevention Of Blindness) in cooperation with the World Health Organization(WHO).
Theme
Every year this day focuses on a theme, and in 2022 the article is Love Your Eyes.
Importance
World Sight Day is observed yearly to raise public awareness of blindness and genuine vision impairment.
- To influence the Government and Ministries in health to promote the prevention of blindness and genuine vision impairment campaigns.
- Health ministries designate funds for the prevention of eyesight and blindness.
- Educate the target audience and make them aware of the prevention and cure for eyesight and vision impairment.
- The world has nearly 1 billion people suffering from near or distance vision impairment, and many are yet to be known which could be prevented.
- Vision Impairment can occur in every age group, specifically in people above 40 – 50 years of age. They generally have near-sighted vision impairment.
- And in modern times, due to more watch time on gadgets like TVs, computers, laptops, and mobile, many people under the age group of 40 have far-sightedness – distance vision.
Many adults suffer from eye-related problems because of health and age-related issues like hypertension and diabetes, which causes cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, infectious eye disease, and trauma, which cannot be ignored and hence need to be addressed.
Vision impairment and blindness have a long-lasting effect on anyone’s life, including daily personal activities, communicating with the school, community, and workplace, and accessing public amenities.
Theme Motto
This year’s theme is Love Your Eyes. The Motto is to get 5 Million eye tests pledged globally by World Sight Day, helping the world.
- Many people will encounter eye health issues in their lifetime, but many will not be accessible to the services offered for eye health and eyesight.
- The Love Your Eyes campaign encourages individuals to prioritize their health and access affordable eye services worldwide.
- They are making people aware of the deadly effects of eye diseases. Take preventive measures to save your eyesight from vision impairment and blindness.
- Partial blindness occurs because of no treatment or not yet knowing the causes of the disease. What is the reason?
- Love Your Eyes is to make people get tested for their eye health and give them budget-friendly services so that any people of any community or ethnicity can get eye services.
- Poor and older adults generally suffer from cataracts and have no money to treat themselves. With the help of the Government and Ministries of Health and with the help of some NGOs can generate funds.
- Crowdfund campaigns for the poor and old to get their eyes treated and give them a better world to live in. With these campaigns, they can get a better world to see and a better life to live.
To make aware of every age group protect their eyes, schedule checkups of an eye, and take preventive measures to prevent the eye from occurring any deadly eye disease which can lead to vision impairment and complete or partial blindness. And making people aware of correcting their eyesight to get a better view of the world leads to healthy and bright eyesight.
