World Sight Day
On Thursday 8 October 2020, join us in celebrating how priceless our eyes are.
This World Sight Day we’re celebrating how priceless our sight is and the huge impact a simple, cost-effective solution such as glasses can have.
We know that 2.2. billion people have a visual impairment – that’s a quarter of the world’s population – and that the number of people affected in low and middle income countries is four times higher than in high income countries. The inequalities are huge.
Globally, $244 billion is lost in productivity due to unaddressed myopia (short-sightedness), a common refractive error. But on average, across all of Sightsavers’ programmes in Africa and Asia, it costs just $3 to $5 for a pair of prescription glasses – a simple solution which can not only change someone’s entire life, but has also been proven to lead to a significant increase in potential earnings.
Eye care really is a good investment. As Julian Burnett, vice-president of global markets at IBM UK, says: “Imagine the impact on productivity if we refused to let any of our colleagues wear their glasses, even for just a week?”
Find out about our work to improve access to eye health for everyone below.
Get involved
How would you cope without your glasses? Join the global storytelling movement today! If you're working from home, #RaiseYourGlasses in support of good eye health on your next video meeting.
Join the movementHow we’ve adapted projects during COVID-19
Hear from our staffOur sight-saving work is...
Improving children’s futures
We're training teachers to screen children for sight problems and last year, we screened more than 800,000 children for visual impairments and provided 50,000 pairs of glasses to school children.
Changing a child’s life with a pair of glasses in Pakistan
Increasing economic productivity
We found that out of 17,500 truck drivers, almost half were driving without the glasses they needed to see clearly. Our work is not only supporting them to continue earning money, but creating safer roads.
Addressing inequalities
Women, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities and those living in rural areas are more likely to have visual impairments. We tackle inequality and make sure we can reach the people who need eye health services the most.
Integrating with existing healthcare
It’s crucial our work is integrated into local and national health services, to ensure lasting impact for the communities we support. That’s why we collaborate with ministries of health in the countries where we work.
Providing affordable eye care with partner hospitals in India
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