Action For Sight 2018: Help End Avoidable Blindness

The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the second Thursday of every October as World Sight Day (WSD), aiming to raise awareness of blindness and visual impairment. The World Sight Day of this year is on Thursday October 11, 2018.

Every year, Orbis Macau hosts its annual fundraising campaign named “Action for Sight” (AFS) to support World Sight Day, which falls in every October. The campaign aims to raise awareness of eye health issues and global visual impairment while at the same time raise fund to support Orbis’s sight saving initiatives.

Themed "Some blindness can be cut", this year's AFS2018 urges everyone to learn more about avoidable blindness and help end unnecessarily tragedy of visual impairment.

Everyone can encounter visual impairment. However, do you know 75% of all blindness is treatable or preventable? Orbis urges everyone to learn more about avoidable blindness so we could safeguard our own eyesight proactively.

According to WHO, 157.7 million people live in trachoma endemic areas. This infectious disease leads to trichiasis, which causes eyelashes growing inward, scratching the cornea and making patients blind. However, trachoma can be prevented or cured by cost-effective interventions such as: maintaining good hygiene; taking antibiotics and undertaking surgery.

Orbis is determined to eliminate the threat of trachoma to local people in Ethiopia. For the last 20 years, Orbis has been harnessing the WHO’s “SAFE” elimination strategy here.

S - Equip nurses with trichiasis surgical skills

A - Mass antibiotic treatments to prevent the disease’s spread

F - Raise awareness of good hygiene and facial cleanliness

E - Improve environment and ensure adequate access to clean water and proper sanitation

Currently 40% of children between 1-9 years old have active trachoma. There is a long way for Orbis to bring long-term brightness to Ethiopia. The coming years will see Orbis continue to train or educate Ethiopian eye specialists and healthcare professionals and teachers, as well as community and women’s group leaders about eyecare.

Living in developing countries, those who are suffering from needless visual impairments can be stopped with just a simple donation. Orbis urges everyone to take action today and donate to “Action for Sight”, and together we can end avoidable blindness!

Please make your donation to Orbis Macau, on or before December 11, 2018. Donate MOP100 ( MOP30 for students ) or above and you will be awarded an Orbis Eye Care Pack, we can end avoidable blindness together !