Initiative to eliminate blindness launched

An inititiave to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020 was launched for 18 French-speaking African countries last Friday in Mali’s capital, Bamako, according to a WHO news release. Known as “Vision 2020: the Right to Sight” the countries targeted include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo. These countries account for more than two million blind and six million visually impaired people. Vision 2000 will address five major causes of blindness in francophone Africa: cataract, trachoma, glaucoma, onchocerciasis and child blinding disorders, particularly those leading to corneal scarring. “The burden of blindness in Africa is increasing and will at least double by 2020 if urgent preventive measures are not taken,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Ebrahim Samba told reporters at the launch. “The right to sight is a basic human right,” Christian Garms Chairman of the VISION 2020 Task Force said. “Nevertheless, it is an unaffordable luxury for almost 45 million people in the world, six million of whom live in Africa.” He added that the elimination of avoidable blindness by 2020 was a lofty goal and a tall target. “VISION 2020 provides a unique opportunity for African governments, international organisations and NGOs working with WHO to jointly reach this target,” Garms said.