Industry leaders mark World Sight Day with education, philanthropy
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More than 1 billion people have blindness or visual impairments because they do not have access to vision care, according to Optometry Giving Sight, a key player in organizing the annual World Sight Day Challenge.
In a video release, Optometry Giving Sight said donations to World Sight Day supported new optometry schools and vision centers opening to improve access to sustainable eye care globally.
Although 80% of respondents in a survey conducted by Johnson & Johnson Vision said eye exams were an important part of overall health, only 46% said they go for exams annually. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they didn’t go because they did not perceive vision changes, but there are barriers to receiving eye care: 16% reported that COVID-19 made them unwilling or unable to schedule an exam, and 24% of generation z and millennial respondents said they cannot afford care.
To help address the gap in eye health care access, Alcon said in a press release that it contributed $63 million in product and equipment donations in 2019, plus an additional $25,000 raised by the Steps for Sight Challenge, a company initiative that challenges employees to take 10,000 steps on World Sight Day. The company also released a video PSA to encourage people to schedule eye exams.
EssilorLuxottica launched global education campaigns to increase awareness of blue light and UV exposure as well as the importance of ongoing eye care. In addition, the company will leverage its global network of retail stores to offer free vision screenings in China, India and South Africa.
FGX International celebrated World Sight Day by announcing in a press release that it would continue its commitment to RestoringVision through 2022. Since 2008, FGX has donated more than 11 million pairs of reading glasses to people in need.
The American Foundation for the Blind and eSight co-hosted a webinar that highlighted solutions to vision problems; details on eSight, electronic eye wear for the visually impaired; and the experience of Gary Foster, who has age-related macular degeneration, with wearing the device.
Prevent Blindness also said in a press release that it hosted a webinar discussing telehealth policy as it relates to challenges presented by COVID-19.
Wrapping up the day at 7 p.m. in all four time zones in the continental U.S., authors and artists read bedtime stories from Through the Looking Glasses: Stories About Seeing Clearly, a free digital book introduced by OneSight, Clearly and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
Editor's note: This article was updated to include information on FGX International.
References:
- EssilorLuxottica (2020). EssilorLuxottica reaffirms its commitment to bringing good vision to everyone, everywhere on World Sight Day 2020.
- Johnson & Johnson Vision (2020). New survey on eye health finds most people say they know the importance of an annual eye exam, but—They actually don’t and they’re not getting one. Accessed Oct. 7, 2020. Available at: https://www.jjvision.com/press-release/new-survey-eye-health-finds-most-people-say-they-know-importance-annual-eye-exam-they.
- OneSight. Celebrities, athletes and authors read bedtime stories on World Sight Day launching free digital children’s book ‘Through the looking glasses: Stories about seeing clearly.’
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