World Sight Day , the global event aimed at drawing attention to blindness and vision impairment around the world , falls on Oct . 12 this year . The event began in 2000 by the SightFirst campaign of Lions Club International Foundation . It has since been co-ordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness under the Vision 2020 Global Initiative . The IAPB says about 39 million people around the world are blind , while another 246 million have a moderate to severe visual impairment . Yet , about 75 per cent of visual impairment is avoidable through treatment or prevention . Recently , Optical Prism magazine spoke with Dr . Michael Dennis , the new president of the Canadian Association of Optometrists , about why it ’ s important to mark World Sight Day in Canada as well as the CAO ’ s work to ensure everyone has access to the vision care they need .
Q . Dr . Dennis , for World Sight Day , the CAO is asking Canadians to “ get eyewise .” What does this mean to the CAO and why is this so important ?
A . 75 % of all vision loss can be treated or prevented and a regular , comprehensive eye exam provides a tangible way of making this a reality for Canadians from the age of six months .
“ Getting eyewise ” is important to CAO , because it is important to Canadians themselves . Earlier this spring , the CAO polled Canadians about their impressions of eye health and found that 8.3 / 10 Canadians placed eye care as their highest level of priority , ahead of dental or hearing care . World Sight Day provides yet another opportunity to remind Canadians about the
5.5 MILLION CANADIANS ARE LIVING WITH VISION-THREATENING CONDITIONS AND THAT FIGURE IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY 29 % OVER THE NEXT DECADE .
importance of maintaining good ocular health and CAO is committed to doing what it can to contribute to Canadians ’ eye health and vision care .
Q . The global theme of World Sight Day is “ Universal Eye Health .” What is the CAO ' s position on universal access to comprehensive eye care ?
A . Canada is a signatory to the World Health Organization ’ s Universal Eye Health : A Global Action Plan 2014- 2019 , which urges member states to
take action to prevent avoidable visual impairment and to better integrate eye health into national health plans and health service delivery by 2020 . The goal of the plan is a world in which nobody is needlessly visually impaired , where those with unavoidable vision loss can achieve their full potential , and where comprehensive eye care services become an integral part of primary health care and health systems development . To date , Canada ’ s response in meeting these objectives
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