Celebrations around the globe mark World Sight Day
Every year on the second Thursday in October, the global eye care community comes together to mark World Sight Day - a special day to focus global attention on blindness and visual impairments.
Together with our partners, HCP marked the day by celebrating with events all over the world.
In Nepal, HCP Co-founder Dr. Geoff Tabin joined a team from the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology at an outreach in Phaplu, where 83 people had their sight restored. Beyond Phaplu, 2,126 patients were provided exams and basic care at 11 different screening sites through Tilganga’s network of community eye centers. Information about the importance of eye care was broadcast to the general public in Nepal through public announcements, video advertisements and celebrity messages on the popular social media platform TikTok.
In Ethiopia, a delegation from HCP’s country team, joined by HCP board member Dr. Matt Oliva, met with the Ministry of Health to discuss how HCP is advancing eye care objectives in the country.
The team also conducted a high-volume cataract outreach event at Bisidimo General Hospital where over 715 sight-restoring surgeries were provided.
In Ghana, World Sight Day was marked with a cataract outreach in Koforidua in advance of the day of the celebration and a press event on the day off. The event brought together officials from the federal government with NGO and local partners to commit to collective goals to advance eye care.
In the United States, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Report of the 2030 targets on effective coverage of eye care, a reference point to commence monitoring progress towards the 2030 global targets. To celebrate this launch, the WHO held an event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, featuring keynote addresses from government officials; a technical briefing from the WHO on the Report; and a panel discussion showcasing country progress.
