KEY FACTS Every five seconds, someone in our world goes blind

KEY FACTS
Every five seconds, someone in our world goes blind…
… and a child goes blind every minute
™ VISION 2020: The Right to Sight programmes address blindness in children
as a major public health priority
™ Almost 50 percent of the world’s 1.4 million children living without sight are
needlessly blind, from avoidable causes
™ The main causes of blindness in children are also causes of child
mortality – up to 60% of children who lose their sight will die within a year
™ Survivors will spend 40 years without sight. Thus, blindness in children
accounts for nearly one third of the global economic cost of blindness,
though it represents less than 4% of the overall magnitude
™ Visual impairment in a child limits participation in opportunities for education
and self-development
™ Over 90% of blind children receive no schooling and few are able to
realise their full potential
™ Refractive errors are the most important cause of avoidable visual impairment
in school-age children
™ Care before and after birth can help avoid blindness from malnutrition, Vitamin
A deficiency, conjunctivitis of the newborn and retinopathy of prematurity
™ Look after your child’s sight – with vitamin-A rich foods, eye hygiene and
safety
™ Glaucoma and cataract affect children too – but treatment is more challenging
than in adults!
™ Early intervention is key to ensuring that children with eye problems have
the best possible outcomes
™ Vision loss in a parent can turn a child into a carer, preventing access to
education – vision care for the caregiver is care for the child