Sight Test and Glasses Could Dramatically Improve the Lives of 150 Million People With Poor Vision

Sight Test and Glasses Could Dramatically Improve the Lives of 150 Million People With Poor Vision

October 12, 2006

WHO Releases New Global Estimates to Mark World Sight Day

    GENEVA, Oct. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A simple sight
test and eyeglasses or contact lenses could make a dramatic
difference to the lives of more than 150 million people who
are suffering from poor vision.  Children fail at school,
adults are unable to work and families are pushed into
poverty as a result of uncorrected visual impairment. 

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040610/CNTH001LOGO )

    To mark World Sight Day, 12 October 2006, the World
Health Organization (WHO) has released new global estimates
which, for the first time, reveal that 153 million people
around the world have uncorrected refractive errors (more
commonly known as near-sightedness, far-sightedness and
astigmatism). Refractive errors can be easily diagnosed,
measured and corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses,
yet millions of people in low and middle income countries
do not have access to these basic services. 

    Without appropriate optical correction, millions of
children are losing educational opportunities and adults
are excluded from productive working lives, with severe
economic and social consequences.  Individuals and families
are frequently pushed into a cycle of deepening poverty
because of their inability to see well.  At least 13
million children (age 5 to 15) and 45 million working-age
adults (age 16 to 49) are affected globally.  Fully 90% of
all people with uncorrected refractive errors live in low
and middle income countries.  

    "These results reveal the enormity of the
problem," said Dr Catherine Le Gales-Camus, WHO
Assistant Director-General, Noncommunicable Diseases and
Mental Health.  "This common form of visual impairment
can no longer be ignored as a target for urgent
action."

    WHO previously estimated that 161 million people were
visually impaired from eye diseases such as cataract,
glaucoma and macular degeneration.  Uncorrected refractive
errors were not included in these earlier estimates.  These
latest WHO estimates add to the previous number and
effectively double the estimated total number of
visually-impaired people worldwide, bringing it to some 314
million people globally.  The estimates also confirm that
uncorrected refractive errors are a leading cause of visual
impairment worldwide.

    As part of the VISION 2020 Global Initiative to
eliminate avoidable visual impairment and blindness
worldwide, WHO has been working with its partners to
improve access to affordable eye exams and eyeglasses for
people in low and middle income countries.  This new
information concerning the prevalence of refractive errors
will strengthen the efforts of the VISION 2020 partnership
to raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem and spur
increased commitment for action.

    "Correction of refractive errors is a simple and
cost-effective intervention in eye care," said Dr
Serge Resnikoff, Coordinator of WHO's Chronic Disease
Prevention and Management unit.  "Now that we know the
extent of the problem of uncorrected refractive errors,
especially in low and middle income countries, we must
re-double our efforts to ensure that every person who needs
help is able to receive it."

    Note to Editors:

    Refractive errors occur when the eye is not able to
correctly focus images on the retina.  The result is
blurred vision, which is sometimes so severe that it
creates functional blindness for affected individuals.

    The three most common refractive errors are:

    -- Myopia (nearsightedness) -- this is difficulty in
seeing distant 
       objects clearly. 
    -- Hyperopia also known as Hypermetropia
(farsightedness) -- this is 
       difficulty is seeing close objects clearly. 
    -- Astigmatism -- This is distorted vision resulting
from an irregularly 
       curved cornea. 

    Related links:

    WHO's site on the prevention of blindness and visual
impairment:
     http://www.who.int/blindness/en/

    Vision 2020 and World Sight Day:
     http://www.v2020.org/

    For further information, or to arrange one-on-one
interviews, please contact:

     Alexandra Touchaud, 
     Communication officer, WHO Geneva
     Tel:    [phone]
     Mobile: [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

     Dr JoAnne Epping-Jordan, 
     Senior Programme Adviser, WHO Geneva
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

     All press releases, fact sheets and other WHO media
material can be found at http://www.who.int .

SOURCE  World Health Organization