World Sight Day: World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. World Sight Day 2024 is on 10 October 2024.
This annual event, which always takes place on the second Thursday in October, aims to highlight a range of blindness and visual impairment issues. It is considered one of the most important communication and advocacy events in the eye health calendar.
The World Sight Day was originally launched by the Lions Club International Foundation as part of the Sight First Campaign in 2000 and is now being coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in the context of the global initiative VISION 2020, which aims to promote a world in which nobody has a useless visual impairment. ”
Now coming to statistics – In 2010, only 28% of the world’s population was affected by shortsightedness. By 2020 it could be 34% and 50% by 2050. In 2014, about 422 million people were affected by diabetes, against 108 million in 1980. And on three people with diabetes, one person has diabetic retinopathy. In addition, one in ten people can develop a threatening aspect of the disease.
600 million people in the world are functionally blind because they have no access to eye exams or eyewear. Seeing can mean the difference between living in poverty and living in opportunities. Enabling a person to see clearly increases your chances of a fulfilling life.
What are the main causes of preventable blindness?
- Uncorrected refractive errors such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, and astigmatism
- Non-operated cataracts
- Glaucoma
Well, uncorrected refractive errors account for about 40-45% of avoidable blindness worldwide, while non operated cataracts account for about 30-33% and glaucoma is 2%.
What are the steps to prevent blindness and maintain vision?
- Get regular eye care.
- Learn more about the family history of blurred vision.
- Take a nutritious diet and exercise regularly.
- Take all medications prescribed by the doctor
- Stop smoking and reduce your alcohol intake.
- Wear eye protection to avoid eye injuries.
Why is World Sight Day celebrated?
World Sight Day is celebrated every year to highlight the problem of blindness around the world. The goal is to educate the world about the prevention and treatment of vision loss. It is celebrated to have an impact on governments, preferably health ministers, and to participate in the financing of and for blindness prevention programs. It is also useful to make the public aware that visual impairment and blindness are important international public health issues.
The main objective of World Sight Day is to inform the target groups about VISION 2020 and its activities and to generate support for VISION 2020 and the activities of the Blindness Prevention Program.
The main goals of World Sight Day are:
To reduce public awareness about blindness and vision impairment
Encourage governments, and especially health ministers, to participate in and support blindness prevention programs.
Find out about the prevention of blindness.
Generate support for the Vision 2020 program and activities.
How to celebrate World Sight Day?
1. Awareness through social media
World Sight Day is the perfect opportunity to write a quick tweet or post on Facebook. Join the conversation with the #WorldSightDay tag. Quickly write a “Happy #WorldSightDay to all our patients!” Or choose your preferred non-profit eye care organization that you would like to present.
If you train on Instagram, you can organize a fun competition. Ask the patients to post a photo of their favorite view, such as the beach or a family portrait, and identify your office with #WorldSightDay. Then you can pick a winner and reward him with a simple $ 10 gift card in a cafe or movie theater.
2. Organize a donation day
Your practice may agree to donate a day’s eye exam fees or an amount for each sold mount or view test issued. Optometrist companies can organize fundraisers led by their employees or invite their employees to donate during the month of October. Simply print one of these posters or this infographic to explain the cause in your office. Bonus: Announce your fundraising day on social media
3. Take part in the challenge of World Sight Day
Optometry Giving Sight is a global nonprofit organization that funds sustainable vision care projects in underserved communities. Over the years, the charitable organization has funded many Vision Centers in 38 countries.
This month, Optometry Giving Sight is calling all members of the optical community to participate in the World Sight Day Challenge. The Challenge is the world’s largest annual fundraiser devoted to preventable blindness, requiring only an eye exam and glasses.
World Sight Day Themes-
Following is the theme of World Sight Day:
The theme for 2020 is “Hope in Sight”.
theme for 2019 was “Vision First”.
2018 was “Universal Eye Health”.
2017 was “Make Vision Count”.
2016 was: “Stronger Together”.
The theme fo2015 was: “Eye Care for all”.
The theme for 2014 was “No more avoidable blindness”.
2013 was “Universal Eye Health.”
2010 was “Countdown to 2020”.
2009 was “Gender and Eye Health”.
2008 was “Combating Visual Disabilities Later in Life”.
2007 was “Vision for Children”.
2006 was: “Low visual “.
2005 was “The Right to sight.
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| October Social Events | Date of Celebration |
| National Voluntary Blood Donation Day | 1st October |
| International Day for Elderly People | 1st October |
| Gandhi Jayanti | 2nd October |
| Anti Untouchability Week | 2nd to 8th October |
| Wildlife Week | 2nd to 8th October |
| World Habitat Day | First Monday of the month of October |
| Air Force Day | 8th October |
| World Post Day | 9th October |
| International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction | 11th October |
| World Standards Day | 14th October |
| World Students Day | 15th October |
| World Food Day | 16th October |
| World Savings Day | 30th October |
| National Unity Day | 31st October |