The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) launched Vision 2020 in 1999. It was a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness. It vowed to target the world's leading causes of avoidable visual impairment: cataract, trachoma, onchocerciasis, childhood blindness (including vitamin A deficiency), and refractive error and low vision.
It is now 2020 and the IAPB has since changed its target to a more realistic “reduction in prevalence of avoidable visual impairment by 25%” before the end of the year.
To date, there are one billion individuals with moderate to severe vision loss, which could have been prevented. Of these avoidable causes of vision loss, uncorrected refractive error remains the biggest reason, affecting 671 million people. This can easily be addressed by wearing appropriate spectacle correction OR contact lenses or undergoing refractive surgery.
Cataracts on the other hand is the second leading cause of vision loss and largest cause of blindness, affecting 100 million worldwide.
Majority of visually impaired persons come from low to middle income countries, and this includes the Philippines. This year, an estimated 12 million of our 110 million population or 11% are suffering from vision loss. Yet, if majority of cases can be addressed with glasses, why aren’t we taking care of it?
Some patients wait until the last possible minute to have their eyes checked. We know vision is important but we do not rank it high enough in our priorities. Rising costs of living, caring for aging parents and grandparents, children’s schooling, all take precedence over ourselves. If we do end up addressing our own health concerns, other physical conditions are deemed more important than an eye check up. More worrisome, most of us do not have access to proper eye care. People in rural areas have difficulty traveling to see their eye doctor who is likely holding clinic at the city center. Also, other towns may not have an ophthalmologist or an optometrist practising there at all. As of this year, there is only one ophthalmologist for every 65,800 Filipinos and one optometrist for every 20,000.
Integrating eye health into our life is essential to improve our health and well-being. Good vision helps us perform better at school and be more productive at work, improving income and overall quality of life. Teachers can help screen for vision problems by performing visual acuity testing for school kids and referring them accordingly. Work applicants also must be empowered to go for vision screening to address eye concerns. We must all act together to fight and claim victory over preventable blindness. Schedule an appointment with your eye doctor today.
Source - https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/magnitude-and-projections/country-estimates-of-vision-loss/philippines/
