World Sight Day 2015

What is World Sight Day?

World Sight Day, celebrated this year on October 8, is an annual day of awareness around blindness and visual impairments. The ‘Call to Action’ this World Sight Day is ‘Eye care for All’. On this day, NGOs, DPOs and civil organisations all come together to raise public awareness of blindness & vision impairment as major international public health issues and also influence Governments and Ministers of Health to participate in and designate funds for national blindness prevention programmes.

The rolling theme for the World Sight Day is ‘Universal Eye Health’. In 2013 the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment 2014-2019 was approved by the World Health Assembly. The vision of this Global Action Plan (GAP) is a world where those with unavoidable vision loss can achieve their full potential, and where there is universal access to comprehensive eye care, integrated health systems and rehabilitation services.

Celebrate World Sight Day with CBM

CBM hosts the Neglected Tropical Diseases Conference in Abu Dhabi

CBM is an active member of the Neglected Tropical Disease NGDO Network (NNN) - a global forum for non - government development organisations working to control NTDs. This year CBM hosted the NNN Conference in Abu Dhabi, with over 150 organisations and 240 participants in attendance. Read more about the event here.

Miracles Day in Australia!

In late August this year CBM Australia celebrated Miracles Day to raise money for cataract patients. Over 800,000 Aus dollars were raised to carry out over 25,000 cataract surgeries (interesting fact: a cataract surgery can cost as little as 32 Aus dollars and takes place in under twelve minutes!). This campaign was broadcasted by 24 Australian radio stations and four of them travelled along with the CBM Australia team to broadcast LIVE from Nepal. This has been one of our most successful campaigns this year, restoring sight and hope to over 25,000 people!

CBMA’s fund-raising director, Heath McSolvin says –
"This year's Miracles Day was CBMA's biggest ever with over 25,000 Miracles given! It's a unique day where radio stations right across Australia donate their air time to help us connect with their generous audience. We're truly thankful to the Australian public who have engaged with our campaign and we look forward to an even bigger and better Miracles Day in 2016. "

CBM and Neglected Tropical Diseases

For many years CBM along with its partners has been actively combatting Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as trachoma and onchocerciasis (river blindness). NTDs affect the poorest populations in the developing world living in remote, rural areas, urban slums, or conflict zones where there is little money for medication and health care. One sixth of the world's population — more than one billion people — suffers from one or more NTD. Another 2 billion people are at risk, mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics. NTDs cause great human misery, often aggravated by social stigmatisation and discrimination, especially for women. They cause pain, disfigurement, and disability (mental and physical), and result in about half a million deaths each year.

CBM and partners primarily focus on prevention and treatment to combat trachoma and river blindness.
For more information read our CBM NTD Report 2015.