11th October 2007
"The chief handicap of the blind is not blindness, but the attitude of people towards them." -Helen Keller
Oct 11th every year is celebrated as World Sight Day. It is an attempt to attract world attention on vision impairment and blindness. The fundamental goal of WSD is to take stock of the extensive problem of preventable blindness.
‘Right to Sight for One and All’ forms the cornerstone of WSD endeavors, clearly charted under VISION 2020 goals. Significantly, the focus will be on Blindness in children, its repercussions on their future. The crux will rest on the measures that can be adopted to tackle preventable blindness.
Seeing is Believing
Oh, say! What is that thing called light, which I must ne'er enjoy? What are the blessings of the sight? Oh, tell your poor blind boy!
- Colley Cibber
Nearly 37 million people around the globe are unable to differentiate between darkness and light – they are completely blind. Almost 124 million people carry fears of a bleak future as they suffer low vision.
Amid the dismal statistic, the ray of hope is that more than 100 million people could be saved if the objectives of VISION 2020 see the light of day. Experts feel that nearly 75% of blindness is preventable with timely examination and proper treatment.
The Right to Sight campaign spearheaded by the
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and the
World Health Organization will solicit the effort of the international network of NGO’s, several institutions to completely obliterate avoidable blindness by 2020.
