The burden of vision impairment weighs more heavily on low- and middle-income countries, and the global demand for eye care is set to surge in the coming years. We all have a role to play in making eye health a priority, both for ourselves here in Canada and for those around the world who are struggling needlessly with vision impairment.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first-ever World Report on Vision, which highlights the critical need for global action in the fight against avoidable blindness. Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a vision impairment, and of these, at least 1 billion people have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or has yet to be treated.

The World Report offers concrete proposals to address significant challenges in eye care. The key proposal is to make integrated people-centred eye care, embedded in health systems and based on strong primary health care, the care model of choice and scale it up widely. We’ve already developed a successful eye care model that aligns with this recommended approach. Through our Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Model, we’re able to empower people to take control of their health and increase their adoption of health-seeking behaviour.

We work with local partner hospitals and governments to integrate eye care services into the primary health care systems, providing the same level of care to both paying patients and those who cannot afford to pay. Operation Eyesight-trained community health workers go door to door in vulnerable communities, screening people for vision problems, referring them for treatment, and educating them on eye health and general health. We first launched our Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Model in India in 2009, and have since expanded it to Nepal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia with great success.

The World Report also recognizes the success of the WHO-endorsed SAFE strategy for trachoma elimination, which we’ve successfully implemented in Kenya and Zambia. In Zambia’s Sinazongwe district, where we’ve implemented all four components of the SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement), the prevalence of blinding trachoma has been reduced from 14.5 per cent to 3.46 per cent.

With support from our donors, we’ve restored sight and prevented blindness for millions of people, but as the World Report reminds us, we still have a lot of work to do. Today, on World Sight, please consider making a donation and joining us in the global fight against avoidable blindness – For All The World To See.

The post World Sight Day: Time for us all to take action in the global effort to eliminate avoidable blindness appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Sylvia Hatfield and her husband, Reverend Donald, first heard about Operation Eyesight from Donald’s mother, Mabel. “Mabel heard Art Jenkyns (founder of Operation Eyesight) speak just as he was getting started,” says Sylvia. “She told us she was supporting Art’s work to bring sight to the poor in India. We thought it was a fantastic idea.”

Don convinced the Canadian Forces Protestant Chapels to support what was then “Art Jenkyns’ little charity.” Sylvia told everyone in her Sunday School classes about Operation Eyesight.

“We love that Operation Eyesight is Canadian,” Sylvia says. “We truly believe in the cause. Giving someone back their sight may seem like such a small thing at first, but it’s far reaching. Being able to see again not only helps the individual and their family, but the entire community.”

Sylvia’s daughter Sara has been a donor for 30 years. Her passion for the charity grew “through osmosis.” Her first cataract surgery was at age 39. “If I’d been born in another country, I could very well be blind right now,” Sara says. She enjoys following in her grandmother’s footsteps and is happy we work sustainably, helping people to help themselves.

Thank you Mabel, Don, Sylvia and Sara. Your support means everything to us!

We’re so grateful to all our incredible supporters for making it possible to transform entire communities through the gift of sight. Together we’ve helped thousands, but there are thousands more who need access to eye care. Make a donation to give the gift of sight today.

The post Three generations of support appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, 250,000 Canadians suffer from glaucoma.

Although glaucoma can be treated and sight often maintained (if diagnosed in time), an estimated seven million people are blind because of it, accounting for 2.8 percent of global visual impairment.

Although anyone may develop glaucoma, some people – such as those with high blood pressure – have a higher risk. You can learn about the risk factors for developing glaucoma on the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’ website.

This week, help spread awareness about this blinding disease by sharing this blog post with your friends and family. And remember to book your next eye examination.

You can also make a donation to support our work. Early detection is the best way to prevent blindness due to glaucoma.  By facilitating eye screenings, providing eye exam equipment and supporting medical personnel at our partner facilities, Operation Eyesight helps prevent, diagnose and treat glaucoma.

Together we can help ensure that people living in Africa and Asia have access to the eye care services they need to preserve their vision – For All The World To See!

The post Let’s raise awareness about glaucoma appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

The whole family depends on Hira’s son, who works as a labourer to make enough for them to get by. To help out, Hira gardens and sews clothing for the family, while taking care of her two granddaughters.

She was happy she could contribute at home, but she was able to help less and less over time, as her vision dimmed. She felt like there was some invisible film over her eyes that she couldn’t blink away, and it only got worse. Two years later, she was completely blind.

“I was too afraid to seek treatment,” says Hira. “My sister had cataract surgery done that left her blind, and she died blind. I was so afraid the same thing would happen to me.”

But our donors made it possible to help Hira through her fear.

Two community health workers arrived at Hira’s home and screened her eyes. They explained that her condition could be treated, and they counselled her on the procedures that would restore her sight. Then they referred her to an Operation Eyesight-established vision centre for examination.

Though she was afraid, Hira did go to the vision centre, where she was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts. She was then referred to Nepal Eye Hospital for surgery.

Hira still wasn’t convinced. “I was so afraid, but the community health workers introduced me to an older man who had received sight-restoring cataract surgery himself. His story calmed me, and finally I felt brave enough to get treated.”

Now, thanks to the support of eye health heroes like YOU, Hira’s sight has been restored!

“I am very happy about the treatment I received! Now I can do my daily activities on my own. My family can concentrate on their work, and I can help them when they need me.” 

Hira is now an eye health advocate in her own community! She is so grateful to the community health workers and the doctor who helped her regain her sight.

And most of all, she’s grateful to kind people like you who made it all possible!

Thank you so much for helping people like Hira get their lives back through the precious gift of sight! There are still thousands more women like Hira who need your help. Donate today and become an eye health hero.

The post From fearful blindness to joyous sight appeared first on Operation Eyesight.