World Sight Day 2021: History, significance, theme, and all you need to know

World Sight Day is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of October. This year, the occasion will be marked on 14 October. This day is celebrated with an intention to raise awareness around vision impairment, which includes blindness too. Around the world, almost one billion people have a preventable vision impairment but most of these issues go unaddressed. Vision impairment majorly affects people over 50 years and this impairment could hamper several activities of a person’s life. From daily chores to community interaction and work opportunities, all these bear repercussions of blindness and impairment. Diseases such as diabetes, cataract, glaucoma, and conditions such as a refractive error in the eyes can lead to reduced eyesight. Theme This year, World Health Organization (WHO) will celebrate this day with the theme “Love Your Eyes”. History The first World Sight Day was celebrated on 8 October, 1998. It was first initiated by the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF). The organisation has held several programs globally related to sight, eye care, risk of suffering from eye diseases, and sight-restoring surgeries. Later, World Sight Day became a joint initiative between WHO and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Significance The WHO directs and actively participates in curating events for World Sight Day. Lions Club International also promotes this day annually. Every year, a theme is chosen to be celebrated on World Sight Day. Several communities and non-government organisations join hands with WHO and IAPB to increase awareness on vision impairment and blindness. At the 74th World Health Assembly, the Member States adopted targets for eye care. Two targets were picked to achieve by 2030. The targets are a 40 percent increase in effective coverage of refractive errors and the second target is to achieve a 30 percent increase in effective cataract surgery. The targets chosen will play a crucial role in increasing eye care around the world and will also assist countries in delivering quality services.