WORLD SIGHT DAY 2022: Eyes allow us to navigate through the world and avoid things that may harm us. Over 2.2 billion people, however, are visually impaired. World Sight Day is an annual awareness event which focuses on vision impairment and blindness. Below, we will look at the theme of this year’s event, its history and its significance.
World Sight Day 2022: Theme
The theme of World Sight Day this year is the same, as last year; which is “Love Your Eyes.” It highlights the need to look after our ocular organ by getting them tested to ensure that no great vision loss occurs, which is preventable.
World Sight Day: History
It was the Chicago-based Lions Club International which observed the first World Sight Day through their SightFirstCampaign in the year 2000. The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), which was founded in 1975 in the UK, now conducts this event. On February 18, 1999, the IAPB joined hands with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the VISION 202: The Right to Sight (V2020) campaign. World Sight Day is part of that initiative.
The first World Sight Day event to have a theme was in the year 2005. The theme was “The Right to Sight.” This was followed by “Low Vision” in 2006, “Vision for Children” in 2007, and “Fighting Vision Impairment in Later Life” in 2008, in addition to other themes on subsequent years.
World Sight Day: Significance
The aim of World Sight Day and the theme “Love Your Eyes” is to encourage every individual to take proper care of their eyes to prevent any visual impairment in the future. Since most people spend a lot of time staring into their phones, IAPB advises following the 20/20/20 rule about taking breaks to avoid eyestrain and headaches. It urges people, especially children to spend at least two hours outside every day, use sunglasses, eat a healthy diet, quit smoking and exercise regularly among other things.
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