World Sight Day 08

World Sight Day is a global initiative providing an opportunity to raise the profile of the causes of blindness and vision impairment and the preventative measures. It takes place on the second Thursday in October every year.

Eyes on the Future - vision and ageing is the theme for World Sight Day 2008 and will focus on the impact of vision loss and blindness for people aged 40 and over.

World Sight Day will be launched by Ms Noeline Brown, Ambassador for Ageing, at Melbourne Town Hall at 10.30am on Thursday 9 October.

Our vision for the ageing population is:

• they have the best possible vision to last their lifetime
• they can lead active and independent lives
• they have access to good eye care services
• that their birth place not deny them the right to sight.

To draw attention to the vision and eye health issues faced by people as they age, Vision 2020 Australia's members are holding events Australia-wide on World Sight Day.

For more information about Vision 2020 Australia's members please visit our Members page

Early detection is the key to protecting your sight as you age

More than 500,000 Australians over the age of 40 are vision impaired or blind and approximately 75 per cent of their conditions were preventable or treatable.¹

People aged 40 and over need to act now. They should have their eyes checked every two years, be vigilant if there are changes to their vision, see their eye health professional early and access support services as soon as it is necessary.

To learn more about blindness and vision impairment in Australia please visit our page on the Five main causes of blindeness and vision impairment in Australia.