World Sight Day is a global observance that occurs annually on the second Thursday of October, dedicated to raising awareness about blindness and vision impairments. This year, it falls on October 12, and the theme is ‘love your eyes at work.’ The Indian government is actively organizing numerous events nationwide to bring attention to this important issue.
On this World Sight Day, the primary focus is to help people recognize the significance of safeguarding their vision in the workplace. There is a call to business leaders to prioritize the eye health of employees in all settings, as outlined in a press release from the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, operating under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, will conduct various events aimed at creating awareness about visual impairments within the general population.
World Sight Day has been observed since the year 2000 and is currently coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness in collaboration with the World Health Organization. It originally began as part of the SightFirst Campaign by the Lions Club International Foundation and has featured specific themes throughout its 22-year history.
Leading up to World Sight Day, the United Nations commemorated the occasion with a unique photo exhibition in the corridors of its New York headquarters. This extraordinary exhibition, titled ‘2030 IN SIGHT,’ showcases the world from the perspective of individuals living with preventable vision loss. It aims to prompt individuals to consider the direct consequences of treatable and avoidable eye health conditions on affected individuals, their communities, and the advancement of progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as explained in a recent statement by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
