World Sight Day – what will John Howard be wearing? (article en anglais)

Australia might have the answers to the vision problems that will affect two thirds of the world’s population, and through commercialisation of such developments, help those in visual need throughout the world.
 
A leading advocate for eye and vision health is calling on John Howard to put his glasses to one side on World Sight Day (tomorrow Thursday October 13) to imagine how, through innovative solutions to vision care, Australia could both contribute to those in need and profit from a $40 billion global market.
 
Scientia Professor Brien Holden, founding CEO of the Sydney-based Vision Cooperative Research Centre (Vision CRC), guest speaker today at the National Press Club in Canberra, also asked guests to ‘de-spectacle’ themselves for a few minutes, to see how over 300 million people worldwide view the world every day.
 
“Unnecessary functional blindness affects millions of people globally and is on the increase.  Seventy five per cent of the world’s vision impairment is preventable,” said Professor Holden, who is Chair of the World Health Organisation’s working group on developing a global plan to eliminate avoidable blindness due to refractive error (the need for glasses to see).
 
Professor Holden believes that Australia is in a unique position to provide many of the solutions.
 
“We have some great science that is already being translated to commercial success.  Organisations like the Vision CRC are developing exciting products to correct vision, restore ageing sight, and even prevent the development of shortsightedness”, said Professor Holden. 
 
“This research is receiving excellent support from the Cooperative Research Centres Program which brings together our best researchers to collaborate with the world’s best in cutting edge research and commercialise the outcomes with big companies.  But we can do more.  Basic eye research does not fare so well - one Government agency in the US spends 10 times more per head on eye research than is spent in Australia.”
 
According to Professor Holden, vision correction is a huge global market in developed nations with global sales of vision correction products being some $40 billion - and it is growing rapidly in the developing world.  For example, by 2020 it is estimated that the number of people with myopia (shortsightedness) will grow to one third of the global population. 
 
“We are currently earning Australia a multi million dollar income through better eyesight”, said Professor Holden, “but the immense potential is yet to be realised.”
 
Professor Holden also highlighted how we can save ourselves money with better eyecare.
“The real financial costs to Australia of avoidable vision impairment in this country are over $5 billion per year, and there are immense personal and social costs to the individual and community”, said Professor Holden.
“In Australia almost 50% of blindness and 70% of visual impairment today is caused by conditions that are preventable or treatable.  Prevention of blindness rarely - if ever - reaches priority health care status for Governments or even individuals.  We are far more conscientious and consistent with say, dental care – because it hurts and is immediate. 
 
“Quite simply, if unnecessary blindness and vision impairment were given priority in health – and a major push to prevent them - we would be saving ourselves a lot of money.”
World Sight Day is designated by the World Health Organisation to clearly state that WHO considers the Right to Sight as an inalienable right for every person on the planet. 
 
“We ask everyone today to imagine how those who depend on lenses or glasses would cope without them.  In our society it’s a temporary inconvenience.   But if you had no access at all to this basic right to sight, then everything is jeopardised – your education, employment, enjoyment and mobility are drastically reduced,” Professor Holden said.
 
Globally, Australia has taken a leading role in both research solutions and Vision 2020: The Right to Sight - a blindness prevention initiative of WHO and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness partners - which aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.  Through organisations such as the International Centre for Eyecare Education (a Vision CRC partner), Australia is investing in the improvement of global eyecare and the growth of the eyecare market through education and public health efforts.
 
“Australia is making a real difference both at the cutting edge of research, and in programs which are bringing vision to millions in need”, said Professor Holden.
 
Source : communiqué de presse