World Sight Day is observed to raise awareness about eye health. It is held annually on the second Thursday of October. This year, World Sight Day is on October 13th. World Sight Day was commemorated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). It is a day to ponder over the importance of your eye health and find ways to protect it and keep it healthy now and in the future. Here’s everything you need to know about this day:
World Sight Day 2022: Theme
Continuing the theme of last year, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) confirmed that this year’s theme will also be “Love Your Eyes”. This comes following the success of last year’s campaign. 3.5 million pledged to prioritize their eye health.
The Love Your Eyes campaign is asking individuals to take care of their eye health and wants to bring to attention over a billion people worldwide who have vision loss but do not have access to eye care services. IAPB is asking to carry out sight screenings in national parliaments, assemblies, presidential and royal palaces to raise awareness about the importance of eye health with politicians and decision-makers.
World Sight Day: History
In the mid-1970s Sir John Wilson and others drew the attention of the international community to the problem of global blindness. This led to the formation of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) on January 1, 1975. Sir John Wilson as the Founder President. The World Blind Union (WBU) and the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) were its founding members.
The first World Sight Day was celebrated on October 8, 1998. The “SightFirstCampaign” of Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) initiated this day. The organization is renowned for initiating several programs globally related to sight, eye care, risk of suffering from eye diseases, and sight-restoring surgeries.
World Sight Day was also an initiative towards the World Health Organization’s “VISION 2020”.
According to IAPB’s official website, World Sight Day is supported by almost 200 IAPB Member organizations globally.
World Sight Day: Significance
Millions of people around the world do not have access to basic health care facilities. While most of the causes of blindness are preventable, most cases end up visually impairment because they do not have proper treatments. It is a day to raise awareness about getting regular eye checkups as a means to care for your eyes. The gift of sight is often taken for granted.
However, World Sight Day is commemorated to remember all that our eyes do for you. IABP has also social media users to add their voice to World Sight Day. They are asking eye care professionals or organizations to pledge all the tests carried out in the month leading up to World Sight Day. For individuals, they are asking them to pledge to get their sight tested or pledge to take better care of their eyes.
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