World Sight Day 2017

World Sight Day, celebrated this year on October 12, is an annual day of awareness around blindness and visual impairment.

What is World Sight Day?

The rolling theme for the World Sight Day is ‘Universal Eye Health’. The ‘Call to Action’ this World Sight Day is ‘Make Vision Count’. 80% of the world’s blind are avoidably so. 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.

 

Celebrate World Sight Day with CBM

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CBM NTD Report 2017

More than 1 billion people – one-sixth of the world’s population – are affected by one or more neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and another 2 billion people are at risk, mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics. Take a look at our Neglected Tropical Diseases Report 2017 for more information about our work with NTDs.


Inclusive Eye Health

‘Inclusion Made Easy in Eye Health Programs’ is designed for program staff in international development organisations. It is a brief, practical guide on how to ensure eye-health programs are disability-inclusive.

CBM signs MoU with Peek Vision

This year, Peek Vision and CBM entered into a partnership with the aim of using Peek technology to support and further develop CBM’s eye health and other disability work.

The 5-year partnership between CBM and Peek will see the implementation of Peek tools, such as Peek Acuity and Peek Retina, by CBM partners. It is hoped that initial pilot projects will lead to widespread adoption of the tools in all CBM operating countries and evolved solutions across CBM’s other strategic areas of disability work, other than eye health. For more information, read this article.

Miracles Day in Australia

Every August, CBM Australia rallies around an exciting event: the annual Miracles Day appeal, focused on giving the gift of sight-saving surgery for people living with cataracts for only AUD$32.

CBM Australia runs Miracles Day in partnership with Australian Christian radio stations. These radio stations travel to CBM supported project sites with CBM staff and have the opportunity to witness cataract surgery and the incredible moment sight is restored.

The radio teams broadcast live from their overseas location on 17 August and encourage Australians to call CBM or donate online. More than 82,000 miracles have been donated over the past four years.

This year, Miracles Day focused on stories gathered from the Philippines, where CBM Australia featured Margil and Aljon, a sister and brother who were both born with cataracts (check out the videos here). A team of CBM staff and 18 radio hosts travelled to Bacolod in the Philippines, where they visited a CBM partner outreach centre providing eye screening and cataract surgery.

For 2017, CBM Australia set a target of 30,000 miracles — as of 5 September, generous Australians had given a total of 33,331 miracle gifts of sight.

“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our donors who have given so enthusiastically this year. And we are very thankful for our partnership with Australia’s Christian radio stations who are incredibly dedicated to Miracles Day and sharing the impact of CBM’s work,” said Nicole Denton, Head of Fundraising.


New Centre of Excellence for Eye Health inaugurated in Yaoundé, Cameroon

CBM helped inaugurate the ‘Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute’ in Yaoundé, a Centre of Excellence established to improve, preserve and restore eye health and vision in Cameroon and other Central African countries. Along with financial support for infrastructure and equipment for the Institute, CBM is providing key staff such as ophthalmologists, hospital administrator and nurse tutors. Technical advisory and programmatic support will be continued by the regional and country eye health advisors and offices. Read more here.


Cross cutting issues in NTDs and mental health

Have a look at this article which addresses cross-cutting issues in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) including stigma, discrimination, and mental health - to raise the profile of the links between these two neglected fields.