Latest developments and advances in the prevention of blindness, a global perspective

In 1994, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were at that time 45 million blind and that the number would double by the year 2020. However, at least 75% of the blindness was unnecessary, being preventable or treatable. They estimated that the number of blind could be reduced to 25 million by 2020 by applying what we currently knew. At that time, some 60% of blindness was due to cataract or uncorrected refractive error. These conditions could essentially be corrected overnight using the existing technology of providing cataract surgery and spectacles. Another 15% of blindness was due to three conditions that really needed a public health approach to large scale interventions: trachoma, onchocerciasis, and vitamin A deficiency. Another 15% of blindness was caused by chronic eye diseases that needed ongoing treatment, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. There remained another 10% of blindness caused by diseases that at that time were neither treatable nor amenable to public health interventions; they included age-related macular degeneration (AMD), uveitis, and optic neuritis. This led to the establishment of Vision 2020, a global initiative with the goal of the elimination of avoidable blindness by the year 2020 in order to give all people the right to sight. This was a joint initiative between the WHO that provided technical assistance and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and its non-government organization members that provided support with capacity building. Vision 2020 worked in partnership with national groups to develop national (Vision 2020) plans to provide eye care program development and delivery. Vision 2020 included three components: 1. Effective Disease Control focusing on cataract, trachoma, onchocerciasis, childhood blindness, and refractive error and low vision; 2. Human Resource Development including education and training, and emphasis on the