editorial/no abstract

A: A key part of VISION 2020 is devolving decision making and planning to district level — the idea of planning services for units of one million people. Generally, when we have tried to plan for larger populations, we have not been successful. This has led some people to question whether national prevention of blindness programmes have any role in VISION 2020. Well managed national programmes ...

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 du...

The unprecedented partnership for onchocerciasis control that followed Merck's decision to donate Mectizan has inspired the formation of a global initiative for the elimination of all avoidable blindness by the year 2020. 'Vision 2020, the Right to Sight', jointly co-ordinated by the World Health Organization's Programme for the Prevention of Blindness and Deafness and the International Agency ...

VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, has become the fulcrum of all programs for control of blindness worldwide. Just like the five blind men who perceived an elephant differently, policy makers, program planners, eye care professionals and the general population (the main stake holder) have different interpretations for what VISION 2...

Globally, 32.4 million people (95% CI 29.4 to 36.5 million people; 60% women) were blind in 2010, and 191 million people (95% CI 174 to 230 million people; 57% women) had moderate or severe visual impairment (MSVI). The most common cause of blindness is cataract, which contributes to about 48% of all blindness in the world. ‘VISION 2020: The Right to Sight’ is a global initiative that aims to e...

UNLABELLED Settings and Aim: The World Health Organization launched in 1999 an initiative to eliminate the global avoidable blindness and prevent the projected doubling of avoidable visual impairment between 1990 and 2020 (Vision 2020: The Right to Sight). The World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted resolutions WHA 59.25, WHA 56.26 urging member states to adopt the Vision 2020 principles. More than...

1 The factors that contributed to these successes include: increased political commitment • increased commitment from eye health • professionals increased commitment and support from • national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) increased involvement of, and partnership with, • the corporate sector. However, VISION 2020 has not achieved the same level of success in all part...