Overview:
World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on vision impairment, including blindness in communities. This happens by educating the public about common eye diseases, their treatment, and prevention.
Facts:
- Globally, at least 1 billion people have near or distance vision impairment that could be prevented or has yet to be addressed. Vision impairment affects people of all ages, with the majority being over the age of 50. Vision impairment and blindness can have major and long-lasting effects on all aspects of life, including daily personal activities, interacting with the community, school and work opportunities and the ability to access public services.
- Unoperated cataract and uncorrected refractive error are the leading causes of vision impairment. Other causes such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, infectious diseases of the eye, and trauma, however, cannot be ignored and need to be addressed.
Objectives:
- Raising awareness on the importance of sight on a global level.
- Improving the quality of the sight services provided.
Official Date:
- Globally: 14/10/2021
- Locally: 8/3/1443AH
Theme:
Love Your Eyes.
References: