Sightsavers highlights lack of eyecare access

This World Sight Day (10 October) international development organisation Sightsavers is calling for better access to eye health services for everyone from children to the elderly.

Sumrana Yasmin, deputy technical director of Eye Health at Sightsavers, said: “Two thirds of people don’t have access to the glasses they need to see clearly. This applies to children as well as adults. A lack of access also impacts treatment for other eye conditions like cataracts, which a child can be born with. Many eye health interventions can be cost-effective and relatively straightforward, yet the impact can be life-changing.”

Sightsavers is marking World Sight Day in a number of countries:

• In Uganda, 200 people will be given sight-restoring cataract operations, and children’s eyes will be screened at school, with spectacles given to those who need them
• Pakistan, which this week celebrated the elimination of the blinding eye disease trachoma, will also be hosting eye screening camps
• In Malawi, 100 people will have cataract operations and 1,000 children will be screened at school
• In Zambia, together with the University of Teaching Hospital, staff will be screening and dispensing spectacles in community schools located in shanty compounds within Lusaka, as well as taking part in an awareness-raising march with partners involved in eye health in the country
• Bangladesh will be hosting a round table discussion to discuss ways in which overcome the barriers to inclusive eye health in the country

Sightsavers is also inviting people to gather colleagues, friends, or items from work or home together to form as big an eye shape as they can, and share their #EyeCreation on social media, because we need big changes to address the global inequity of eye health.

Find out more at www.sightsavers.org