With over 285 million people visually
impaired worldwide, the Nigerian Optometric
Association, NOA, has called for more
awareness on eye health and vision care
among the populace with a view to
preventing blindness through knowledge and
information.
In a statement to announce activities to
mark this year’s World Sight Day in
collaboration with the Federal Road Safety
Corp, FRSC, the National President of NOA,
Dr. Damian Echendu said out of the 285
million, 80 percent of it can be preventable,
adding that 4 out of 5 blind people are
needlessly impaired.
Echendu hinted that this year’s celebration
will focus on enlightening members of the
National Union of Road Transport Workers,
NURTW.
“Good eyesight and visual perception are
fundamentals for safe driving and over 90
percent of decisions made behind the
wheels depend on good vision.
An estimated 23 percent of drivers
worldwide have uncorrected vision and need
spectacle correction to improve visual
capacity while driving and an estimated 59
percent of accidents could be linked to
causes associated with poor sight such as
failure to use corrective lenses or glare
related reasons.”
“The theme of this year’s World Sight Day is
“Stronger Together”. World Sight Day (WSD)
is marked globally on every second Thursday
of October annually and this year’s event
will be holding on Thursday, October 13,
2016.”
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