BACKGROUND Data on prevalence and causes of avoidable blindness in Malawi are not readily available. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and causes of blindness in persons aged 50 and above in southern Malawi to plan eye care services for the community. METHODOLOGY A population-based survey was conducted in 7 districts in southern Malawi. Villages were selected by probab...

A population-based survey of blindness was conducted in Vanuatu. Data were gathered on a sample of 3520 of the approximately 150,000 inhabitants of Vanuatu aged at least 6 years, in order to estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness among the whole population. An overall prevalence of blindness of 4.0 per 1000 was found, 85% of which was due to cataract, an avoidable cause of this disabil...

AIM The survey aimed to identify the major treatable or preventable causes of visual loss in children attending blind schools in Sri Lanka so that appropriate control measures can be implemented. METHOD A total of 226 children with blindness (BL) or severe visual impairment (SVI) attending six schools for the blind were examined and details recorded using the WHO standard reporting form. RE...

AIM This cross sectional study was undertaken to identify the major causes of childhood severe visual impairment/blindness (SVI/BL) among students in schools for the blind in south eastern Nigeria with a view to offering treatment to those with remediable blindness. METHODS 142 students attending three schools for the blind in the study area were interviewed and examined using the World Healt...

COMMUNITY EYE HEALTH JOURNAL | VOLUME 30 | NUMBER 100 | 2017 The control of blindness in children is a priority of VISION 2020, a global initiative with the goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Many of the causes of visual loss in children in lowand middle-income countries are preventable; the most common of which are vitamin A deficiency, measles, conjunctivitis of the new...

Steroids are a group of anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly used to treat ocular and systemic conditions. Unmonitored use of steroids especially in eye drop formulations is common in situations when it is easily available over-the-counter, resulting in undesirable side effects. Among the ocular side effects, cataract and glaucoma are common. Steroid-induced ocular hypertension was reported in 195...

visual sciences have been progressing quickly in recent decades through globalization phenomenon. an enormous change has taken place in ocular health issues, however, there are various problems facing ophthalmic public health worldwide. in the previous years, the world health organization and the international agency for the prevention of blindness in partnership launched the global initiative ...