Overview:
World Sight Day is an annual awareness day held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on visual impairment, including blindness.
Objectives:
- Awareness of sight importance around the world.
- Providing higher quality vision services.
Facts:
Globally, at least 1 billion people suffer from preventable or untreated near or far vision impairment. Low vision affects people of all ages, with a majority over 50 years old. Visual impairment and blindness can have significant and long-lasting effects on all aspects of life, including daily personal activities, interaction with community, school, job opportunities and ability to access public services.
Untreated cataracts and uncorrected refractive error are major causes of visual impairment. However, other causes such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, ocular infectious diseases, and trauma cannot be ignored and must be addressed.
Official Date:
Globally: October 13th, 2023
Locally: Rabi Awal 29th, 1445H