Raise awareness of the issues of preventable blindness. So many eye issues go undiagnosed and untreated, especially amongst the most vulnerable and poor. And not treating the problems can lead to a lifetime of blindness.
Global Childhood Eye Health Statistics from Unite for Sight:
- An estimated 1.4 million children are blind, 320,000 of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Organization. Preventing blindness in children. Report of a WHO/IAPB scientific meeting. WHO/PBL/00.77. Geneva: WHO, 2000)
- The global financial cost of childhood blindness (based on the loss of future earning capacity) is thought to be between US$6 billion and $27 billion (Smith, AF and Smith, JG. The economic burden of global blindness: a price too high! Br J Ophthalmol 1996;80:276-7)
- Worldwide, up to 70% of childhood blindness may be preventable (Rahi et al. Measuring the burden of childhood blindness. Br J Ophthalmol. 1999 Apr;83(4):387-8)
- In developing countries, it is believed that 60-80% of children who become blind die within 1-2 years (Lewallen, S and Courtright, P. Blindness in Africa: present situation and future needs. Br J Ophthalmol. 2001 Aug;85(8):897-903)