News and Media
CIBA VISION® partners with IAPB to build awareness and promote better access to vision care
- Invests in multi-year research and development program aiming to control myopia progression, a major cause of serious eye problems that can lead to vision loss
- Launches education campaign to promote proactive eye care
On October 11, CIBA VISION® will take its place on the world stage at “VISION 2020: The Right to Sight,” a critical advocacy event in Geneva aimed to build awareness and promote the need for better access to vision care. This event leads up to World Sight Day on October 14, an annual event created to raise public awareness about blindness and vision impairment as well as to educate about healthy vision. VISION 2020 is the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, a joint program of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
“At the heart of our business is a passion to make a difference in people’s lives by improving, protecting and preserving eyesight,” said Andrea Saia, President, CIBA VISION. "Restoring sight and preventing blindness are among the most cost-effective interventions in health care. However, poor vision care is still a major public health issue, particularly in developing countries, and leadership at the global level is needed.”
CIBA VISION is playing a pioneering role in myopia research, aiming to control myopia progression, as it can lead to serious eye problems, such as glaucoma and retinal detachment that can cause vision loss. More than 1.6 billion people worldwide are myopic, with two thirds of those affected living in the Asia region(i). In a joint development program with the Vision Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in Sydney, Australia, CIBA VISION is conducting a multi-year clinical study in China with myopic children to evaluate the efficacy of specially designed myopia-control silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Six and twelve month results are promising, and longer-term data is currently being collected.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a refractive error causing individuals to have clear vision up close but blurry vision at a distance. Myopia occurs because the eyeball is irregularly shaped; it is longer than normal, causing the light rays to focus in front of the retina rather that on it. While myopia can develop at various points in a person’s life, the condition is typically identified in childhood and can worsen through late adolescence.
The company is also partnering with eye care practitioners around the world in ‘Celebrating Sight,’ a public education campaign meant to create greater appreciation for the gift of sight with a call to action for regular eye checks. The campaign features images that show the effects of vision impairment viewed through the eyes of an individual with uncorrected refractive errors such as astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia. Consumers can view the effects of these conditions and learn about proper eye care at www.cibavision.com or Facebook.com/CelebratingSight. The video can be viewed at YouTube.com/CelebratingSight.
Associates at CIBA VISION are committed to helping people enjoy one of life’s most precious gifts: healthy vision and giving sight to people in need. This is illustrated by the Company’s founding corporate sponsorship 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 leading up to October 14.
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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(i) Vision CRC – New technology promises to control myopia in children, (http://www.visioncrc.org/latest_news/Latest News/index.asp)
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