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Alcon report concludes most vision problems, blindness are preventable
Novartis and its eye care division, Alcon, announced that 350,000 healthy life years and 123 million work days are lost per year as a result of cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Alcon is releasing this data pooled from 14 countries in conjunction with World Sight Day, a global initiative to help raise awareness and address the problem of preventable blindness and vision impairment worldwide.
Alcon also announced that the costs due to vision impairment and blindness in these countries total more than £20 billion EUR.
More than 90% of vision problems can be prevented, managed or cured if patients have access to the proper treatment, according to the press release.
Alcon created downloadable digital materials intended to encourage eye health conversations; visit www.alcon.com/worldsightday for more information. For more on Optometry Giving Sight and World Sight Day click here.