Awareness campaign highlights ‘growing epidemic’ of myopia in children
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The “growing epidemic” of nearsightedness in children worldwide is the focus of Myopia Awareness Week, May 22 to 26, according to a press release.
With the catchphrase “Keep an eye on myopia,” the campaign aims to make managing the condition in children “an essential part of patient eye health,” according to its organizer, Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI), an Australian not-for-profit organization for vision research and development.
Resources and information about the campaign are available on BHVI’s website.
Uncorrected myopia is a leading cause of blindness worldwide and is projected to affect 50% of the global population by 2050, the release stated.
BHVI CEO Yvette Waddell, MBA, said in the release that a “critical stage ... where we have the tools to create meaningful change” has been reached in efforts to control myopia.
“It is now time to engage the entire eye health community, advising them of not just the importance, but how they can treat myopia in their practice with their afflicted patients — putting to use the incredible bodies of research and advancements in technology that are pushing the case for a world where half the population doesn’t need to be impacted by this debilitating eye disease,” Waddell said.
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