News and Media
CIBA VISION® Launches Education Campaign around World Sight Day to Bring Consumer Attention to Visual Impairment and Importance of Eye Exams
- Company Promotes Routine Vision Care and Offers World Sight Day Toolkit to Eye Care Professionals
The CIBA VISION®,a global leader in vision care, is encouraging people worldwide to have their eyes examined during the month of October, in celebration of World Sight Day on October 14, and to protect their vision on an ongoing basis. Celebrated annually on the second Thursday in October, World Sight Day is the main advocacy event for "VISION 2020: The Right to Sight," a global effort to raise public awareness about blindness and vision impairment as well as to educate individuals about healthy vision.
World Sight Day is an official day of awareness on the World Health Organization (WHO) calendar, and is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
More than 800 million people worldwide are blind, have significant vision impairment or have near vision sight loss. i,v Nearly three-quarters of vision impairment issues can be prevented or treatedii, and 80 percent of blindness is avoidable.iii Regular eye exams, glasses or contact lenses could transform the lives of millions of people in both developed and developing countries.
To create greater appreciation for healthy vision and illustrate the effects of visual impairment, CIBA VISION has created a campaign showing famous landmarks as they might be viewed through the eyes of an individual with uncorrected refractive errors. Through a series of photographic images ranging from the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty to Mount Fuji and Victoria Harbor, consumers can see how astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia impact sight.
Beginning October 14, consumers will be able to view the online image gallery at www.cibavision.com, or on posters and postcards available at participating eye care professional offices. Additionally, a two-minute video focused on the gift of sight and the need to protect one's vision has been produced for online consumer education and for use in ECP offices. The video call-to-action encourages consumers to check and protect their vision by seeing an eye care professional regularly.
"CIBA VISION supports the World Sight Day mission to raise consumer awareness about the importance of healthy vision," said Rick Weisbarth, Vice President of Professional Affairs at CIBA VISION. "We're working with eye care professionals worldwide to encourage consumers to have their eyes examined."
As part of its educational efforts around World Sight Day, CIBA VISION is partnering with IAPB by sponsoring the 'Countdown to 2020' event in Geneva on October 11. This year marks the halfway point in VISION 2020's efforts to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision impairment by 2020. VISION 2020 reports that 15 million fewer people are blind compared with projections made when the initiative was launched.iv
CIBA VISION is also the Founding Corporate Sponsor of Optometry Giving Sight, a worldwide organization that funds and creates sustainable vision care programs in the developing world. Optometry Giving Sight is the only global fundraising initiative that specifically targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error. Optometry Giving Sight coordinates the World Sight Day Challenge (WSDC), a fundraising campaign that encourages optometrists to make a donation online or pledge their eye exam fees from one day from September 1 - October 14. Since its creation in 2003, Optometry Giving Sight has distributed more than $3 million USD to sight-saving projects around the world. CIBA VISION makes significant contributions to Optometry Giving Sight through its global sponsorship, national contributions and employee donations and fundraisers.
About CIBA VISION®
With a shared passion for healthy vision and better life, CIBA VISION is a global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of contact lenses and lens care products. CIBA VISION is dedicated to improving the quality of patients' lives around the world through innovative vision care solutions and strong partnerships with eye care professionals. With worldwide headquarters in Atlanta, CIBA VISION® products are available in more than 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit the CIBA VISION® web site at www.cibavision.com.
About VISION 2020: The Right to Sight
VISION 2020: The Right to Sight was established in 1999 as a partnership between the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness as a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness. The initiative has two main goals: eliminate the main cause of avoidable blindness by the year 2020 and prevent the projected doubling of avoidable vision impairment between 1999 and 2020. To date, 15 million fewer people are blind compared with projections made when the initiative was launched.
About World Sight Day
World Sight Day is the official World Health Organization (WHO) day of awareness for VISION 2020: The Right to Sight and is supported by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and non government organizations with the shared goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020, in order to give all people in the world the right to sight. This year, World Sight Day will be held on Thursday, October 14 and focuses on VISION 2020's theme of the 'Countdown to 2020'. For more information, visit www.VISION2020.org/worldsightday.
CIBA VISION and the CIBA VISION logo are trademarks of Novartis AG.
©2010 CIBA VISION Corporation, a Novartis AG company.
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iWorld Health Organization, Visual Impairment and Blindness Fact Sheet N°282, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/ (Updated May 2009)
iiVision Initiative, Common Eye Conditions http://www.visioninitiative.org.au/your-eyes/common-eye-conditions
iii VISION 2020: The Right to Sight Blindness and Vision Impairment Global Facts, http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?type=FACTS, (Updated April 1, 2010)
ivVISION 2020: The Right to Sight Blindness and Vision Impairment Global Facts, http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?type=ACHIEVEMENTS, (Updated April 1, 2010)
v Brian Holden Vision Institute, Global Eye Care Needs, http://www.brienholdenvision.org/resources/global-eye-care-needs.html
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