Vision 2020 is a global initiative launched in 1999 by WHO and IAPB with the goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by 2020. Over 135 countries have participated in Vision 2020 workshops to develop national plans, with 107 forming committees and 91 drafting plans focused on cost-effective disease control, human resource development, and infrastructure/technology. Major achievements include increasing cataract surgical rates and addressing refractive errors, while prevalence of blindness from conditions like trachoma and onchocerciasis is decreasing according to WHO action plans and country commitments to investing in eye care.

1. UNIVERSITY OF GONDARCollege of medicine and Health
sciences
Department of Optometry
Community ophthalmology group presentation
Title Global response for blindness
and achievements (vision 2020...)
By group 3
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2. Objectives
At the end of this presentation you are expected
to
 Define what blindness is
 Explain the response of the world to blindness
 List and explain different global initiatives for
blindness
 Define what vision 2020 is and highlight its
achievements.
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3. Out lines
 Introduction
 Global responses on blindness
 The major global initiatives taken for
prevention
of blindness
 Vision 2020 : The right to sight
 Achievements of vision 2020
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4. Introduction
 Blindness Is defined as visual acuity in the better
eye after best possible correction of < 3/60 or
visual field less than or equal to 10° from point
of fixation .
 Avoidable blindness is either preventable or
treatable.
 Mainly caused by ocular diseases such as
cataract, refractive errors, trachoma,
Onchocerciasis and some eye conditions in
children.
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5. Global responses on blindness
 WHO’s early efforts on blindness prevention, starting
in the 1950s and predating the formal establishment of
a program for the prevention of blindness .
 These efforts involved providing assistance to Member
States to assess the magnitude of the problem and
institute control activities, several research initiatives
on treatment options.
 The research activities included laboratory and field
studies and, based on the results, strategies were
evolved for the prevention and control of trachoma.
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6. The major global initiatives taken for
prevention
of blindness
 Vision 2020: The Right to Sight
 Global program for prevention of blindness
 Vision for the future (VFTF).
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7. Global programme for control of blindness
 Global programme for prevention of blindness
was launched in 1978 by WHO.
 In accordance with which many countries have
already come up with a ‘National Blindness
Control Programme’.
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8. Cont…
Control strategies suggested by WHO include:
 Assessment of common blinding disorders at local,
regional and national levels.
 Establishment of national level programmes for control
of blindness suited to the national and local needs.
 Training of eye care providers.
 Operational research to improve and apply appropriate
technology.
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9. Vision for the future (VFTF):
 It is another global initiative for prevention of
blindness which is launched in 2001.
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10. Cont…
 Implementation of this program is being
done by
International Council of Ophthalmology
(ICO) by working closely with other
international, supranational and national
organizations.
 It is parallel to and complementary of
‘Vision 2020’. Care is being taken to
avoid duplication.
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11. Top priorities for action of this program
 Enhancement of ophthalmology residency training.
 Development of model guidelines and recommendations for
ophthalmic clinical care in critical disease areas.
 Dissemination of sample curricula for training of medical students
and allied health personnel.
 Advocacy and support for ‘Vision 2020: Right to Sight’,.
 Helping national ophthalmologic societies develop more effective
organizations
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12. Vision 2020 : The right to sight
 VISION 2020: The Right to Sight is the global
initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness
by the year 2020.
 It was launched on February 18 ,1999.
 It is a joint programme of WHO and the
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
(IAPB).
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14. Responsibilities
Responsibilities of IAPB
 Resource mobilization
 Public relations
 Mobilizing its member
organizations.
WHO responsibilities
 Technical assistance at
national and regional
levels in planning eye
health care from a public
health perspective.
 Data collection and
monitoring
 Using data for planning
and developing a disease
control strategy.
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15. Cont…
 Vision
 “A world in which nobody is needlessly visually
impaired, where those with unavoidable vision loss can
achieve their full potential and where there is universal
access to comprehensive eye care services.”
 Aim of vision 2020.
 To eliminate the main causes avoidable blindness by
the year 2020 and to prevent the projected doubling of
avoidable visual impairment between 1990 and 2020.
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16. Cont…
 The objectives of VISION 2020 are:
 To raise the profile in key audiences of the causes of
avoidable blindness and the solutions to the problem;
 To Advocate for and secure the necessary resources to
increase prevention and treatment activities;
 To facilitate the planning, development and
implementation of national VISION 2020 programmes in
all countries.
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17. Cont…
 Task Force of International NGOs, which has
following members:
 International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)
 Christian blind Mission (CBM)
 Helen Keller International
 ORBIS International
 Sight Savers International
 Al Noor Foundation
 International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies
 Lions Clubs International Foundation
 Operation Eye Sight Universal
 The Carter Centre
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18. Cont…
 Inter-national Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
(IAPB) was launched in 1974 by Sir John Wilson.
 It is an inter-national non-governmental agency which
has a close and complementary relationship with WHO.
 Both parties contribute at country and regional level
according to their mandate and expertise in implementing
the global initiative, human resource and infrastructure
development and optimal use of available resources.
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19. Implementation of vision 2020.
 It is implemented through four phases of five year plans.
 The first phase (started at 2000)
 The second phase (at 2005)
 The third phase (at 2010)
 The fourth phase ( at 2015)
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20. The global eye health action plan
2014–201920
 The most recent action plan was unanimously adopted by
Member States at the World Health Assembly in 2013.
 The global eye health action plan 2014–2019 aims to
reduce avoidable visual impairment as a global public
health problem and to secure access to rehabilitation
services for the visually impaired.
 It aims to reduce “prevalence of avoidable visual
impairment by 25% by 2019” compared to the baseline
prevalence of 2010, (285 million people were visually
impaired, of whom 39 million were blind.)

21. Cont…
 Global Strategic approaches of Vision 2020:
pillars
 Disease prevention and control
 Human resource development
 Infrastructure and technology
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22. Cont…
 Vision 2020 national programs
 Since the launch of VISION 2020 in 1999, 135 WHO
Member States have participated in a VISION 2020
workshop, 107 have formed national committees, and 91
have drafted VISION 2020 national plans.
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23. Cont…
 National programmes also have three main elements:
 Cost-effective disease control
 Human resource development
 Infrastructure and technology
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24. Disease prevention and control
 Globally, WHO has identified five major blinding eye
conditions, for immediate attention to achieve the goals
of Vision 2020, which are:
 Cataract
 Refractive errors and low vision
 Trachoma
 Childhood blindness
 Onchocerciasis.
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25. Achievements
 Cataract
 Cataract is included in most national plans for the
prevention of blindness, and cataract surgical rates are
increasing in many countries.
 Cost-effective surgical techniques have been developed
and tested and are being improved continuously.
 Vision 2020 met significant achievements by preventing
blindness due to cataract.
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26. Achievements cont...
Refractive error
 Of the 253 million people who are VISUALLY impaired,
124 million (49%) are VISUALLY impaired due to
uncorrected refractive errors (2015).
 The VISION 2020 global initiative intensively promotes
awareness of the extent of uncorrected refractive errors
and the means for correcting them.
 Uncorrected refractive errors are increasingly being
addressed in national plans for the prevention of
blindness, and low-cost, good-quality spectacles are
becoming available.
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27.  Childhood blindness
 Vitamin A deficiency: There are concerted global efforts
to control vitamin A deficiency in children and women of
child-bearing age.
 Training in pediatric ophthalmology is becoming more
prevalent, and tertiary level child eye-care centers are
being set up.
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28. Cont...
Trachoma
 Since 1997, the year the WHO Alliance for the
Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma (GET
2020) was created; use of the SAFE strategy for
eliminating the disease is increasing.
 GET 2020 is active at the global level. It is a public–
private partnership, bringing together WHO, national
coordinators, nongovernmental organizations, donors
and international experts, with support from the
pharmaceutical industry.
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29. Cont...
Onchocerciasis
 At the closure of the Onchocerciasis Control
Programme in 2002, 40 million people in 11
countries had been saved from infection and eye
lesions, 600 000 cases of blindness had been
prevented.
 The prevalence of blindness and vision
impairment combined has dropped from
4.58% in 1990 to 3.37% in 2015.
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30. Summary on vision 2020
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 Launched on February 18,1999.
 Now 193 countries are committed to investing in
eye care
 Different action plans are set and recently
adopted is WHO action plan for prevention of
blindness 2014-2019
 135 countries participated in workshops
 107 countries have formed national vision 2020
committees
 91 countries have drafted national eye care plans
 To date the prevalence of blindness is dropping.

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