MIMSR Medical College Campus, Viswanathpuram, Maharashtra 413531World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This day is celebrated to create awareness about vision impairment; blindness as well as sight related problems. World Sight Day highlights the importance of good vision for all people. The focus of this day is to educate target audiences about blindness prevention, about VISION 2020 and to generate support for VISION 2020 programme activities. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, approximately 285 million people worldwide suffer from low vision and blindness. Of these, 39 million are blind and 246 million have moderate or severe visual impairment. The major causes of visual impairment are uncorrected refractive errors (43%) and cataract (33%). Most of the blindness (approx 80%) is avoidable i.e. curable or preventable.
In response to WSD every year Maharashtra Institute of Optometry organizes a series of activities in conjunction with yashwantrao chavan hospital to generate public awareness on eye care. Besides adult and pediatric eye screening camps, awareness generation is done via rallies, skits, street plays, and posters. Social media is a powerful media to connect worldwide and in fastest speed. This year students created youtube videos on eye care in different languages and made the videos viral for mass awareness.
Social inclusion, rehabilitation and advocacy for the visually impaired are the need of the hour.
Optometry is a primary health care profession in eye care. Optometrists are specialists trained to examine the eyes, diagnose diseases, and manage visual disorders by prescribing spectacles, contact lenses, low visual devices, and eye exercises. A detailed eye examination can also reveal systemic conditions like high blood pressure, anaemia , or diabetes. Optometrists make a diagnosis and refer the patients to the respective specialists for further care and management. They also co manage conditions with ophthalmologists and other health care professionals.
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