Each year on World Sight Day, the global eye health community joins hands to encourage everyone, everywhere to love their eyes and make their eye health a priority.
This year, on Oct. 12, our global community brought quality eye health care to more than 108,000 people across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Canada. Together with our partners we organized eye health screenings, distributed free prescription eyeglasses and provided no-cost cataract surgeries.
“There is no better way to celebrate World Sight Day than by bringing eye health care and education to those who need it most, especially women and girls, to ensure gender equality i.e. equal outcomes for women and men and gender diverse groups. Moreover, eye health significantly contributes to sustainable Development Goals in terms of better options of livelihood, enhanced school performance and socio-economic development that leads to quality of life,” says Dr. Ritu Ghosh, our Global Director, International Programmes.
“The collaboration of our staff and volunteers, donors, partners and communities has helped make this one of Operation Eyesight’s most impactful and successful World Sight Day celebrations to date.”
Celebrations in South Asia
In Bangladesh, with our partner Netracona Vision Centre, we hosted three school eye health screening camps, which provided comprehensive eye health screenings for 513 children. Forty-three adults were screened at the vision centre.
In Nepal, through our school eye health screening camps, we screened nearly 1,300 students and 19 school staff, and distributed 38 pairs of free prescription eyeglasses. At the Simara Vision Centre, during the two weeks leading up to World Sight Day, 104 patients received life-changing cataract surgery free of charge. Prior to upgrades supported by Operation Eyesight, the facility performed approximately 20 cataract surgeries per month.
In nearby India, in collaboration with our partners we hosted nine eye health screening events at schools and in the community, reaching 1,445 students and 145 adults. We also distributed 98 free pairs of prescription eyeglasses, provided 137 sight-restoring cataract surgeries and organized eye health education events for nearly 2,500 people.
“In addition to eye health screening, distributing eyeglasses and providing surgeries, eye health education plays a key role in ensuring that people know where to seek eye care when they need it,” explains Dr. Troy Cunningham, our Country Director for India. “This combination of treatment and education made it possible for us to declare 39 villages Avoidable Blindness-Free on World Sight Day.”
World Sight Day in Africa and beyond
In Ghana, we joined forces with nursing staff at Saltpond Hospital, our partner facility, to hold public screenings in Awutu Senya District and Mfantseman Municipality.
“Eye health at work was a focus for World Sight Day this year, and our screening activities were aimed at reaching drivers and traders while at work,” says Emmanuel Kumah, our Country Director for Ghana.
“Our partnership with Ghana Health Service is critical to our ability to reach people in the community and connect them with not only eye health care but with their local health system. We’re grateful to our government and hospital partners for helping make World Sight Day 2023 such a success.”
World Sight Day celebrations in Kenya focused on delivering eye health screening and treatment to office and factory workers, teachers and public transport drivers. Eye health screening events for the public were held at our partner hospitals and facilities, enabling us to reach nearly 6,600 people and distribute 291 pairs of eyeglasses – prescription or readers.
Additionally, we hosted eye health education events that reached 2,005 people including workers at PJ Dave Flower Farm in Kajiado. Our partner Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital conducted a procession to create awareness on the importance of eye health, drawing the community’s attention to the services available at the hospital.
“We were proud to join the Ministry of Health for annual World Sight Day celebration events,” says Alice Mwangi, our Country Director for Kenya. “In keeping with this year’s World Sight Day theme of the world of work, we were able to bring eye health screening and awareness to workplaces, through the generosity of our donors and the know-how and passion of our partner facilities.” ”
In Zambia, we joined forces with the nursing staff at our partner Maamba General Hospital to conduct eye health screenings at five schools in the Sinazongwe district in the Southern Province. In total, 565 students were screened and 43 received reading eyeglasses.
“This year’s World Sight Day celebrations focused on reaching pupils and teachers while at work,” says Kelly Kaira, our Programme Manager for Zambia. “The pupils and teachers were grateful for the intervention, and some of them would not have otherwise been able to access eye health services, because of the distance to the hospital, the cost of services and financial limitations. We are grateful to our donors who helped us provide the Gift of Sight, and to our government and hospital partners for helping make World Sight Day 2023 such a success.”
In Calgary, Canada where our global headquarters are located, in collaboration with EvolutionEyes, we provided comprehensive eye exams to eight mothers and four children. The screening event was hosted at Highbanks Society, which empowers young women to attend school and engage in personal planning and goal setting.
“Although many people in Canada take eye health care for granted, there are many people who still face barriers, including Indigenous Peoples and people experiencing homelessness,” explains Sidney Gill, our Community Engagement Specialist – Indigenous Programs. “However, this journey towards self-sufficiency for these communities is not without its hurdles, and vision health is a fundamental element of their overall well-being.”
From sharing eye health tips on social media and in the community, to providing life-changing eyeglasses, surgeries and eye exams, World Sight Day 2023 was a global effort that would not have been possible without our staff, volunteers and partners, as well as our communities of work. Together, we added our voice to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’s annual #LoveYourEyes campaign and joined our eye health peers in encouraging everyone, everywhere to make eye health a priority – For All The World To See.
