Introducing

LEADING CAUSES OF BLINDNESS

CATARACT

Cataract, a clouding of the lens of the eye which obstructs the passage of light, is by far the major cause of blindness worldwide. In most countries of Africa and Asia, cataracts account for at least half of all blindness.

The treatment of cataract is an operation, which is very successful in restoring sight. Vision 2020 will reduce the backlog of cataract blind by training ophthalmic personnel and providing surgical supplies.

TRACHOMA

Trachoma is one of the oldest infectious diseases known to mankind. It is responsible, at present, for 15% of the world's blindness, primarily in Africa.

Trachoma is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis - a microorganism which spreads through contact with eye discharge from the infected person (on towels, handkerchiefs, fingers, etc.) and through transmission by eye-seeking flies.

Vision 2020 - in collaboration with the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma - will prevent and cure trachoma by utilizing the SAFE strategy comprising lid surgery (S), antibiotics (A), where exciting new treatments are now being tested, facial cleanliness (F) and environmental hygiene (E).

ONCHOCERCIASIS

Onchocerciasis is a major cause of blindness in many African countries. Onchocerciasis is often called "river blindness" because the black fly (which transmits the disease) abounds in fertile riverside areas, which frequently remain uninhabited for fear of infection. The disease is most closely associated with West and Central Africa.

Onchocerciasis can be treated with an annual dose of the drug Mectizan. Vision 2020 will bring together the World Health Organization's programs, UN agencies, the World Bank, donor nations, ministries of health and non-governmental organizations to eliminate the disease.

CHILDHOOD BLINDNESS

There are 1.5 million blind children worldwide, mainly in Africa and Asia. In developing countries blindness in children is usually caused by conditions which cause scarring of the cornea (the front of the eye) such as vitamin A deficiency, measles infection, conjunctivitis of the newborn and harmful traditional eye medicines. At a cost of only 5 US cents a dose, vitamin A supplements reduce child mortality by up to 34% in areas with vitamin A deficiency. Vision 2020 will devote significant new resources to reduce childhood blindness.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

LOW VISION

To reach its goal, Vision 2020 needs to provide for more than 35 million people worldwide who have low vision, such as the Indian woman in this photograph.

Vision 2020 will enable access to visual devices and low vision care at affordable costs.

CAN HELP

Blindness has profound human and socioeconomic consequences in all societies. The costs of lost productivity, rehabilitation and education of the blind are a significant economic burden, particularly in many developing countries. Furthermore, in such settings, blindness is often associated with lower life expectancy. Thus, the prevention and cure of blindness can provide enormous savings and facilitate societal developments.

Needless blindness can be eliminated from the face of the earth only if people worldwide have access to sight-saving medical and surgical techniques. There is need for trained eye doctors and eye care teams, increased availability of ophthalmic equipment, instruments, and medicines, and more effective systems for referring patients who are at risk for blindness to treatment centers.

Vision 2020: The Right To Sight is a worldwide, concerted effort to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. The program will enable all parties and individuals involved in combating blindness to work in a focused and coordinated way to achieve the common goal of eliminating preventable and treatable blindness. Vision 2020, in conjunction with the World Health Organization's Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness, will take on the following responsibilities:

• Increase awareness of blindness as a major public health issue
  
• Control the major causes of blindness
  
• Train ophthalmologists and other personnel to provide the appropriate eye care
  
• Create an infrastructure to manage the problem
  

DID YOU KNOW?

• There are 45 million blind people and 135 million with low vision, comprising a total of nearly 180 million people with some degree of visual impairment (These numbers are based on 1996 population estimates.)
  
• 90% of the world's blind live in developing countries
  
• People who live in the developing world are 10 times more likely to go blind than people who live in highly industrialized countries
  
• It is estimated that at least 7 million people become blind each year
  
• The treatments available for the prevention and cure of blindness are among the most successful and cost-effective of all health interventions
  

Vision 2020 aims to prevent an additional 100 million men, women and children from becoming blind by the year 2020. Join us!

FOUNDING MEMBERS

• WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
  
• INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE PREVENTION OF BLINDNESS
  
- CHRISTIAN BLIND MISSION INTERNATIONAL
- HELEN KELLER INTERNA710MAL
- ORBIS INTERNATIONAL - SIGHT SAVERS INTERNATIONAL

SUPPORTING MEMBERS

• AI Noor Foundation
  
• Asian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness
  
• Foundation Dark & Light
  
• The Fred Hollows Foundation
  
• The International Eye Foundation
  
• Lighthouse International
  
• Nadi AI Bassar. North African Center for Sight and Visual Science
  
• Operation Eyesight Universal
  
• O.P.C.: Organisation Pour La Prevention De La Cecite
  
• Perkins School for the Blind
  
• SEVA Foundation
  
• SIMAVI
  
• World Blind Union
  

For more information contact:

• IAPB-India: L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, L.V. Prasad Marg, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500 034, India
  
• IAPB-North America: P.O. Box 21034, Port Authority Conference Center, New York, NY 10129
  
• Vision2020@ketchum.com