In the month leading up to World Sight Day, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) hosted the EVERYONE COUNTS global challenge, where everyone was encouraged to pledge to have a sight test or care for their eyes. The goal? One million pledges. My team at Operation Eyesight and I were determined to contribute to this goal, and to champion this year’s theme of #LoveYourEyes.

During the week of World Sight Day, our global team screened 4,491 individuals, performed or booked 270 cataract surgeries, provided 297 pairs of prescription eyeglasses, and trained 28 community health nurses in primary eye care. Our digital awareness campaign reached over 46,000 people, encouraging them to take the #LoveYourEyes pledge and to learn more about why EVERYONE COUNTS.

And thanks to global efforts, IAPB beat their goal by 370 percent, receiving over 3.5 million pledges!

Below are more of our World Sight Day highlights from around the globe.

KENYA

Our team in Kenya launched the Iten out-patient department, hosted screening camps in Kitale and held an outreach camp for children at a rural school.

ZAMBIA

In Zambia, the Matero Vision Centre was formally launched on World Sight Day. Our team also conducted two community eye health awareness events and two outreach screening events.

GHANA

In Ghana, a training session in primary eye care was facilitated for a group of 28 community health nurses, and an outreach camp providing screening and surgery was hosted.

INDIA

Our team in India inagurated nine vision centers, screened 2,431 people through various outreach activities, launched two vision centres, and distributed 75 pairs of perscription eyeglasses at a school screening camp.

CANADA

The Alex in Calgary, Canada, hosted a free eye screening event in partnership with Operation Eyesight and the Essilor Vision Foundation Canada.  

 The event brought in the Calgary-based EvolutionEyes, a mobile vision centre that provided pre-booked eye exams for clients of The Alex. Those who require eyeglasses will receive a pair as provided by their health benefits or by the Essilor Vision Foundation Canada.

Through Operation Eyesight’s community eye health model, we’re able to empower people to take control of their health and encourage health-seeking behavior. This model has been successful in South Asia and Africa due to effective local partnerships. Effective partnerships can help us meet the eye health care needs of underserved populations here in Canada as well. This event is the first step towards making that happen.

Our global celebrations of World Sight Day highlight the incredible work being done by Operation Eyesight and our partners around the world, with support from our generous donors. We know that eye health is essential to thriving communities, and that 90 percent of eye health problems are avoidable or treatable. Prioritizing eye health and reducing the barrier of accessibility can lead to profound results. Thank you – to my colleagues and to our donors and partners – for your ongoing support as we work to prevent blindness and restore sight for all those in need. Because EVERYONE COUNTS.

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Every year, on the second Thursday of October, we acknowledge and celebrate World Sight Day. It’s a day to celebrate the accomplishments made in the global eye health sector, and also to acknowledge the inequalities that continue to persist and reflect on what we can all do to close that divide.  

One of the biggest things to celebrate this year is that the United Nations General Assembly passed a new eye health resolution. Titled Vision for Everyone – Accelerating Action to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the resolution is the first agreement designed to tackle preventable sight loss to be adopted by the United Nations. It sets a target for all 193 member countries, including Canada, to ensure full access to eye care services for their populations, and to make eye health part of their nation’s journey to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  

While this recognition and these goals are important, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to set global eye health care back, affecting women and girls the most. Eye health is not just a peripheral health issue, it’s a human right. Without access to care, vision loss can significantly reduce quality of life. In most cases though, it doesn’t have to. When it comes to accessible eye care, everyone counts. Everyone deserves the opportunity to participate in school, succeed at their job, and see the faces of their friends and family.  

At Operation Eyesight, our mission is to prevent blindness and restore sight. To do this, we collaborate with local ministries and health authorities in the countries where we work to address the growing need for accessible eye health care. For eye health care to be accessible, it needs to be affordable and available at the local level. Find us on social media to follow along with our World Sight Day activities, including eye screenings, vision centre inaugurations, ophthalmic training and more across Canada, India, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. 

Like with COVID-19, avoidable blindness can only be eliminated when we all work together to ensure that no one gets left behind when it comes to addressing local and global health inequities. If you would like to get involved, I encourage you to learn more about our programs and check out our newest video showcasing the work our teams do in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This World Sight Day, I also encourage you to #LoveYourEyes and pledge to get your own eyes checked.  

[1] https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/magnitude-and-projections/

[2] https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/inequality-in-vision-loss/

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