Vision Loss Around the World

On Thursday October 13th we celebrated World Sight Day to help close the gap between access to eye care and the best eyesight possible, for everyone everywhere. The celebrating did not end on the 13th though, we have been celebrating all month long! We are donating $4 from every eye exam for the entire month of October to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in support of their Love Your Eyes campaign.

IAPB wants eye health to be Accessible, Available, and Affordable to everyone by the year 2030. They are working to achieve this goal through their #LoveYourEyes campaign that strives for accessible eyecare, available sight tests, and affordable glasses on a global scale. We are so proud to support the #LoveYourEyes initiative to help bring better sight to people all over the globe. Did you know that vision loss is linked to socioeconomic disadvantage? Ninety percent of people with vision loss live in low- and middle-income countries. In these areas access to eye care and glasses can be extremely limited or unaffordable. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa experience the highest rates of vision loss.

At Merivale Vision Care, we passionately believe this should change. There is still time until the end of October for you to #LoveYourEyes and come in to see your Ottawa Doctor of Optometry. Do not sit on looking into your ocular health, by booking your visit with us you are ensuring your vision is the best it can be, and we will donate on your behalf to the IAPB to help break the link between inequality and vision loss. Did you know that seventy three percent of people with vision loss are aged 50 years and older? Rates of vision loss quickly increase every decade beyond the age 50 years.

Most of the world’s population with vision loss are aged 50 years and older. Cataracts (or the clouding of the lens inside your eye) is the leading ocular health issue contributing to vision loss in this age category. When access to eye health care is available to everyone, eye conditions are detected early, their onset delayed, and early intervention can prevent vision loss. Did you know that women and girls experience fifty-five percent of all vision loss? The average life expectancy is typically longer for women than men, and with this longer life comes more time for eye conditions to develop that are associated with increasing age. These conditions can include eye conditions such cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. Women, particularly those who live in low and middle-income countries, can also be at greater risk for certain eye conditions.

Help us support the IAPB through their #LoveYourEyes campaign, and let us close the gap between access, availability, and affordability of eye health care and great vision. There is still time for you to come in and see your Ottawa Doctor of Optometry to #LoveYourEyes too.