Thursday, October 11 is World Sight Day 2018 and we're taking the opportunity to ask our supporters and partners to tell us why they care about eye care - #WhyICare.
We're asking you to tell us why you care about eye care this World Sight Day!
World Sight Day is an international day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October. It is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and is the most important day on the eye health calendar.
Keep an eye on our social media channels to hear from our staff, partners and volunteers about why fighting blindness means so much to them. And of course, don't forget to join in yourself by either commenting on the posts or creating your own.
This World Sight Day, the Flying Eye Hospital is in Ethiopia celebrating 20 years of fighting blindness. We'll be working alongside our partners - the Federal Ministry of Health and the Ophthalmological Society of Ethiopia - to conduct a three-week training program to help improve the skills of local eye teams.
There is grave need for investment in eye care in Ethiopia. While we’ve had a host of successes over the last 20 years, the population has nearly doubled in that time, from 65 million in 1998 to 105 million today.
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.6 million people are living with blindness and 3.5 million are living with uncorrected low vision. Even more alarming is the fact that 87% of blindness and 91% of low vision in Ethiopia is completely avoidable.
