Public Agenda (Accra)
9 October 2009
editorial
Yesterday, October 8, was marked as World Sight Day, an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment.
World Sight Day is observed around the world by all partners involved in preventing visual impairment or restoring sight. It is also the main advocacy event for the prevention of blindness and for "Vision 2020: The Right to Sight", a global effort of the World Health Organisation and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
The theme and the key messages of the commemoration are relevant to Ghana, especially as we have demonstrated in recent times our readiness to address the issue of disability and create opportunities for equal access to services for the disabled.
The theme for this year's World Sight Day was Gender and Eye Health - equal access to care. According to statistics, nearly two-thirds of blind people worldwide are women and girls. In many places, men have twice the access to eye care as women; but equal access to eye care could substantially reduce blindness in poor countries.
The statistics also show that 80 percent of blindness is avoidable - either treatable, curable or preventable, and 90 percent of blind people live in low-income countries. It is said that cataract is the leading cause of blindness - yet it is curable by a simple, cost-effective operation.
It is estimated that eight million people worldwide are blind due to uncorrected refractive errors. A simple sight test and glasses could restore sight to most of these people.
Expert opinion is that the inability to see clearly can dramatically impact on quality of life for individuals, families and communities. Overall, the economic cost of lost productivity due to visual impairment has been estimated at $42 billion per year.
These are disturbing facts that require urgent attention. The successful implementation of VISION 2020 in Ghana requires collaboration and commitment,from all stakeholders to build integrated and sustainable eye care and rehabilitation systems nationwide to give everyone in the country "The Right to Sight."
Improving women's access to eye care services and reducing the cost can tremendously improve the situation. This is important because blindness and severe visual impairment from cataract could be reduced by around 11% in low and middle-income countries if women were to receive cataract surgery at the same rate as men.
For millions of people, even a simple eye examination remains out of reach. It is therefore imperative to establish systems that will allow people to receive eye examination services at a faster, easier and less costly rate. We should consider options such as making eye examination part of general medical services since many common diseases can increase the risk of blindness.
We cannot forget about improving water and sanitation services. These are issues of serious concern if we are to tackle blindness effectively.
Remember, blindness, like any other form of disability, is anybody's lot any day!
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