Blindness Prevention

[Ms. Kathy]

Day Lions Restored Sights in Oyingbo
By Mary Ekah, 04.23.2007
Source Link: THISDAY ONLINE African Views on Global news www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=76261&printer_friendly=1

City Strings
"My name is Paul Iraakazi, I am one of the Nigerian Railway Corporation pensioners. My son and I are beneficiaries of the eye treatment carried out by Vivian Lamour Lions Club. The screening was done in January and they promised to come back with the glasses. Today, they are here and I as well as others have gotten our glasses. Even my son, who has been on admission for treatment since last year, still has his hospital bill paid by the Club. Today again, they have given me some huge sum of money as part payment of the hospital bill. I am so grateful to members of Vivian Lamour Lions Club. I pray that God will continue to bless them".

This was the remark of a Railway Corporation pensioner, Iraakazi who along with his son had sight impediments but got treated by the Vivian Lamour Lions Club, Ikeja. While the father was provided with corrective glasses, the son is on the verge of recovering his sight.

Iraakazi's 15-year old son whose sight is impeded has not been able to continue with his education because of his inability to use his eyes. He only managed to complete his primary education. However, the father has hopes that with the support from Vivian Lamour Lions Club, Iraakazi Jnr. will be going back to school soon.
"He has not been going to school because I had no means to treat him but with the prevention of the low vision, I am sure he would be back to school”, he said.

The son's eyes were operated upon last year with help from the Club. After the surgery, it was discovered that Iraakazi (Junior) had low vision and was then referred to LUTH and since then the bill has been financed by the club.

The chartered president, Vivian Lamour Lions Club, Ikeja, Lion Tessy Ashiru, said the exercise, which commenced January this year had over a hundred people made up of market men and women form Oyingbo and Railway Pensioners Association members' eyes screened. It was discovered from the screening that 71 people needed eye glasses while those who needed just medication were given on the spot.

“We now had to find time to raise the money and do the eye glasses, that is what we are distributing today. As a result of the eye screening, we discovered that 12 people needed surgery to remove catarrh. The surgery of those people have since commenced. Right now we have the head of the Railway Pensioners Association whose eyes were operated on in the hospital ward recuperating. All these are free of charge to all the people involved. The bills are paid totally and completely by Vivian Lamour Lion Club”, Ashiru noted.

She reaffirmed that the club carried an exercise of such two years ago young Iraakazi was found to be suffering form low vision and his eyes were then operated upon, adding “he is now being treated by UTH, Lagos and we are footing the bill”.

“Last year we did pensioners in the aviation sector - we passed through their clubs and association. They were operated on and givens glasses” she noted further.

This time around, the train moved to Oyingbo market where the members of the Nigerian Railway Pensioners and Oyingbo Market men and women eyes, surgeries carried out and free eyeglasses provided for those who needed them.

“Most market women and men are not very comfortable and the pensioners, particularly of government are in poverty. So we went to the Iya Oloja who brought the market women and men, while we also went to the leader of the Railway Pensioners Association and they, through their association, reached out to the people who were in need of such services", she explained.
The eye screening, a yearly exercise, Ashiru said is aimed at treating preventable eye diseases, therefore preventing more blindness.

“If Lions don't come to the aid of these people, probably in the next 40 years, over 300 million people will go blind from treatable eye diseases. So we want to catch it before they go so bad and treat them so that they can have their eyes. The eye is the life of the body”, she said.

Lionism, the Club president said, is to prevent people from being in darkness and so the Club lays a lot of emphasis on treating preventable eye blindness.

The managing director, Federal Medical Centre, Railway Compound, Ebute Metta, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Nwosu, a member of the club, who chaired the eye screening exercise, took the opportunity of her office to offer Lions the space in the hospital premises to carry out the exercise as well as free bed space in the ward for those operated on.

Lion Rose Nzenwa, who represented the Chairperson during the presentation of corrective glasses at the Federal Medical Centre Ebute Metta, Lagos to over 70 persons and surgical operation of 12 persons, said the Club champions sight first in accordance with the Lions Club International Foundation – to raise funds worldwide for prevention of eye diseases. Nzenwa noted further that it costs the Club millions of naira from screening, surgical operation and to the provision of corrective glasses.

The District Governor, District 404B, Alhaji Taslim Sanusi who was present at the event said Vivian Lamour Lions Club was carrying out the exercise in order to restore people’s sights. He said Vivian Lamour Lions Club was doing that in fulfillment of the obligation of Lionism, which is to provide for people in the community who cannot fend for themselves when it comes to providing basic essentials of life for themselves.

Speaking further, he said, the Club discovered that out of the problems that human beings suffer from, eyesight was one of the major ones. For this reason, the Club resolved to do its best to restore sight to people who are affected.

Sanusi reiterated that it has been documented recently that if nothing was done about bad eyesight, a minimum of over 300 million people would go blind in the world as a result of preventable eye diseases in few years to come.

Sanusi who said Lion Club was poised to prevent such occurrences by holding the blindness prevention exercise, noted, “So what we are doing right now is to ensure that you are not one of those that would go blind in a few years to come.
"If you have a bad eye sight and you attend to it in time by discovering what is wrong with it and getting treatment, corrective glasses or even going through a surgery, then certainly very soon you would become blind", he said.

As part of its humanitarian service to the society, the Club had earlier on held a seminar on “Law Enforcement Agents and You”. The workshop, which basically focused on the general public, particularly road users with special emphasis on drivers, was held at Ikeja, Lagos. It was basically to discuss the ordeal people have had with Law Enforcement Agents.

“Since the aim of the Lion International is to serve the public, we decided to have a seminar involving every road user where we would bring in the law enforcement agents to talk about them. We wanted a situation where the road users and the law enforcement agents would have a round table talk to see where the problem is, so that the issues could be solved”, the Chairperson of the seminar, Lion Helen Mbakwe said during the seminar.

The focus, Mbakwe said was on why law enforcement agents stop vehicle indiscriminately on the road. Representatives of the law enforcement agents gave lectures on various issues and also provided answers to prying questions. They also explained to participants the various actions on the road that could constitute offence and what the Road Safety really needs to do.

The seminar had speakers from the Federal Road Safety Commission; Road Inspection Unit of the Ministry of Transport, as well as legal practitioners. The participants were made up of Okada (motorcycle) Drivers Union; Road Transport Workers Union; Market Women Traders Association and the general public at large.

At the seminar they were informed of their duties and responsibilities on the road and the duties and responsibilities of the law enforcement agents and how to avoid molestation on the roads.
“We are humanitarian-based, so anything that affects the human person is our business, though we have a special emphasis on the eye - to prevent eye problems and blindness - doing as much as it could to keep the eye intact. The Club also took into cognisance the fact that in doing that, there are so many other ways; it could affect its society.

To this effect, the Vivian Lamour Lions Club has handled several projects for this year, among which is the just concluded seminar on "Law Enforcement Agents and You", Cancer Awareness and many more. Vivian Lamour Lions Club of Ikeja is just ten months old; it was chartered precisely on July 10, 2006 in Chicago.

[Ms. Kathy]

Source Link: Scotsman.com News - UK news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=647852007&format=print
Monday, 30th April 2007
UK

Fri 27 Apr 2007

Blindness warning to lens wearers
MILLIONS of contact-lens wearers are risking blindness because of their bad habits, eye experts warned yesterday.

Careless traits include picking a lens off the floor and wearing it unwashed, and licking a lens to hydrate it and then not washing your hands before handling it, the College of Optometrists said.

Such behaviour could result in disease, eye damage and even blindness, it said.

Research by the college found that 70 per cent of contact-lens wearers had at least one bad habit that was potentially damaging to their eyes.

Men are most likely to sleep in their lenses, while a small proportion of women have even shared a contact lens with a friend.

The college also warned that tap water should not be used to wash lenses, which are worn as an alternative to glasses by three million people in Britain.

This article: news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=647852007

Last updated: 27-Apr-07 01:03 BST

[Ms. Kathy]

Article published Apr 28, 2007
Lions Club fights blindness with kites
Sourec Link: The Spectrum.com Southern Utah's Homepage www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070428/NEWS01/70428003

CEDAR CITY — Normally, you don’t see a lion, a turtle or a fish take to the skies for a good cause.

But when it comes to fighting blindness, nearly anything is possible as long as the product of your imagination can fly with a string, a tail, some wind and a little luck.

“I like making (kites) a lot, I think that’s really fun,” said 11-year-old Kassidy Wray as she tried her best to keep her homemade lion kite in the air during the annual Lions Club Flight for Life on Saturday. “Flying them can be fun, too.”

For more information on this story, please read Sunday's print editions of The Spectrum & Daily News.

[Ms. Kathy]

Source Link: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - - Site Edition Saturday, April 28, 2007
www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C04%5C28%5Cstory_28-4-2007_pg1_5


Contact lens may cause blindness

ISLAMABAD: Almost three quarters of contact lens wearers are risking blindness because of bad hygiene, according to a new study. The new figures show that one in five people lick their contact lenses before putting them in their eyes and two out of five apply their lenses with dirty hands. Over 15 percent of wearers will pick an unwashed contact lens off the floor and pop it in their eye and 70 percent of people keep their lenses in for far too long every day. Careless contact lens wearers rarely realise their bad habits increase the risk of contracting eye diseases, including conjunctivitis and acanthamoeba keratitis, a rare but very painful and potentially blinding infection of the cornea, the transparent covering at the front of the eye. Experts warn that habits that seem harmless such as washing lenses in tap water or with a different cleansing solution can damage the wearers’ eyes. Tap water contains bacteria that can blind you and using the wrong solution not only harms the lens but can also produce allergic reactions or even burn the eye. Optometrists advise contact lens wearers never to wear other people’s lenses, a lens that is chipped or damaged or put the wrong lens in the wrong eye. The experts add people should always clean their lenses either after wearing them or before putting them in their eyes and to make sure their hands are clean before handling them. A final warning for lens wearers is to not wear their lenses too long or sleep in them, Female First reported. College of Optometrists President Kevin Lewis said, “Good eye care is crucial for everyone but even more important for those of us who wear contact lenses. Poor hygiene can lead to infections which range from a simply uncomfortable but temporary problem to a very nasty health issue that may lead to blindness in a matter of days.” “Our eyes are precious and we need to appreciate that by treating them carelessly and with bad hygiene habits, we are likely to cause problems in the future.” app

[Ms. Kathy]

Source Link: La Cañada Valley Sun: La Cañada Flintridge, California www.lacanadaonline.com/articles/2007/05/03/society/lso-juniors0503.txt

"Mommy, some nice ladies checked my eyes today."

If your child attends a preschool here in town, chances are you've heard those words in recent weeks, courtesy of the La Cañada Junior Women's Club.

For over a decade, Juniors volunteers have made a springtime tradition of visiting La Cañada preschools to test the children's eyesight. A fun and rewarding activity for club members, the program has been successful as a "first alert" for vision problems that, if caught in early childhood, can be corrected.

"I'm forever grateful," local parent Linda Roth says of the eye screening, which helped detect her son Jason's astigmatism two years ago, "right at a critical point. Had it not been for this test, he wouldn't have been diagnosed, would probably not be wearing glasses now, and might have problems reading."

Lori Weiss also got a timely heads-up. When her son Charlie was four, the Juniors screening indicated a problem with his left eye, though nothing appeared outwardly wrong. "Sure enough, we took him to a specialist and it turned out he was legally blind in that eye," she says. Charlie was treated for amblyopia or "lazy eye," and today, at nine, is completely cured. Had his condition gone undetected for a few more years, doctors said, the damage could have been permanent. "It's truly important that we're doing this for the community," says Weiss, who recently became a Junior herself.

Club member Cindy Costello, a pediatric nurse practitioner who coordinates the program, notes, "In the three years I've been involved in the screening, we've never been to a school where we did not find a child with a vision problem. It's out there and it gets missed a lot, so the service is very valuable. I'm totally sold on it."

"The Juniors represent the best of volunteerism by coming out to our local preschools and providing this valuable service, free of charge," says Debbie Bacino, director of La Cañada Preschool. "I've been working with them for 10 years as an educator in La Cañada. They're lovely to work with, and we thank them for their support of the health and well-being of our children." Other preschools once again taking part in the eye screening this spring are Parents and Children, the La Cañada Community Center, St. George's and Church of the Lighted Window.

The Juniors are a nonprofit group dedicated to helping area women and children in need, through philanthropy and service projects. For information on the club, contact Nancy Hempstead, president, 952-0149.

[Ms. Kathy]

ABC Online

500,000 blindness cases unnecessary: doctors. 15/05/2007. ABC News Online

[This is the print version of story www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1923717.htm]


Last Update: Tuesday, May 15, 2007. 3:49pm (AEST)
500,000 blindness cases unnecessary: doctors
By Penny McLintock

Global fundraising group Optometry Giving Sight says 500,000 Australians live with preventable blindness.

World-renowned ophthalmologist Gullapalli Rao, who is involved with the group, says more than 250 million people around the world are blind or vision-impaired because they do not have access to an eye examination or a pair of glasses.

Dr Rao, who is the president of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, is in Brisbane to highlight the problem at Australia's largest optometry conference.

"Seventy-five per cent of the world's blindness is avoidable," he said.

Optometry Giving Sight aims to eliminate preventable blindness by 2020.

Dr Rao says the group is working to increase the number of optometrists and improve facilities in developing nations.

"Just imagine, what we take for granted in the more advanced parts of the world is just not available to many people," he said.

The Australian director of Optometry Giving Sight, Brisbane optometrist Bob Lees, says even though there are thousands of Australians suffering preventable blindness, Queensland has some of the best optometry services in the world.

"There's no real financial burden for people to have their eyes assessed and even in the remote communities of Queensland, they're usually visited by optometrists throughout the year either by car or plane," he said.

"The availability of services in Queensland itself is very good."




Link Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1923717.htm

[Ms. Kathy]

Eye-Protecting Sunglasses Are Cool Again This Summer
Source Link: Welcome to AJC! | ajc.com www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/eyes/604484.html
MONDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- The official start of summer this Memorial Day weekend is a great time to remember the danger to eyes from the sun's ultraviolet rays, say experts at Prevent Blindness America.

"Most of us wouldn't dream of staying outside in the sun without putting on sunscreen lotion. But we also have to remember to wear both UV-blocking lenses and a brimmed hat to protect our eyes as well," Daniel G. Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America, said in a prepared statement.

But a recent survey found that only nine percent of respondents were aware that extended sun exposure can damage vision, and only about 16 percent said they wear sunglasses when they're outdoors for long periods of time, according to the Chicago-based organization.

Only about a third of respondents said they wear a hat when they're out in the sun.

UV damage to eyes is cumulative, and the harmful effects may not be evident for years. Extended UV exposure has been linked with a number of eye problems including cataract, age-related macular degeneration, pterygium (a corneal disorder), and photokeratitis.

As part of UV Awareness Month in May, Prevent Blindness America is launching a new Web site to educate people about what they can do to protect their eyes. The site includes a variety of features, ranging from information about risk factors to tips for buying sunglasses.

Sunglasses don't have to be expensive to be effective, which means they block out 99 percent to 100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation.

More information

Here's where you can find information from Prevent Blindness America on the dangers of UV exposure and how to protect your eyes.

[Ms. Kathy]

ISU Researchers Find New Treatment For Blindness In Dogs

POSTED: 3:01 pm CDT May 28, 2007
UPDATED: 3:30 pm CDT May 28, 2007
Source Link: www.kcci.com/news/13400992/detail.html

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University researchers said Monday they may have discovered a new way to heal a cause of blindness in dogs.

The researchers treated two dogs for a disease called SARDS, or "sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome." It blinds dogs suddenly by cutting off electrical activity to their retinas.

Similarities to the disease and what happens in a human's eyes during immune-mediated retinopathy were compared. Using the same method that helps humans, the ISU researchers were able to regain five to ten percent of the electrical activity in the dogs' retinas.


That's enough to allow the dogs to navigate around their surroundings and keep them from bumping into chairs, tables and trees.

The treatment involves injecting the dogs with a product that contains antibodies drawn from human plasma. The researchers don't know exactly how long the treatment will last.

[Ms. Kathy]

Can blindness be prevented through diet?
Increasing omega-3 intake in mice reduces damaging vessel growth in the eye.

Source Link: The Hindu News www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200706260340.htm

Increasing intake of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, found in popular fish-oil supplements, may protect against blindness resulting from abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, according to a study published online by the journal Nature Medicine on June 24. The study was done in mice, but a clinical trial at Children’s Hospital Boston will soon begin testing the effects of omega-3 supplementation in premature babies, who are at risk for vision loss.

According to Eurekalert, the news service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, abnormal vessel growth is the cause of retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy in adults, and “wet” age-related macular degeneration, three leading causes of blindness. Retinopathy, affecting about 4 million diabetic patients and about 40,000 premature infants in the United States, is a two-step disease that begins with a loss of blood vessels in the retina (the nerve tissue at the back of the eye that sends visual signals to the brain). Because of the vessel loss, the retina becomes oxygen-starved and sends out alarm signals that spur new vessel growth. But the new vessels grow abnormally and are malformed, leaky and over-abundant. In the end stage of the disease, the abnormal vessels pull the retina away from its supporting layer, and this retinal detachment ultimately causes blindness.

The researchers, led by Lois Smith, MD, PhD, and Kip Connor, PhD, of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Department of Ophthalmology and Harvard Medical School, and John Paul SanGiovanni, ScD, of the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health, studied retinopathy in a mouse model, feeding the mice diets that emphasized either omega-3 fatty acids (comparable to a Japanese diet) or omega-6 fatty acids (comparable to a Western diet).

Mice on the omega-3 diet, rich in DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and its precursor EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), had less initial vessel loss in the retina than the omega-6-fed mice: the area with vessel loss was 40 to 50 percent smaller. As a result, the omega-3 group had a 40 to 50 percent decrease in pathological vessel growth.

“Our studies suggest that after initial loss, vessels re-grew more quickly and efficiently in the omega-3-fed mice,” says Connor, the study’s first author. “This increased the oxygen supply to retinal tissue, resulting in a dampening of the inflammatory ‘alarm’ signals that lead to pathologic vessel growth.”

Because omega-3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in the retina, a mere 2 percent change in dietary omega-3 intake was sufficient to decrease disease severity by 50 percent, the researchers note. Validating their findings, results were virtually identical in mice whose omega-3 fatty acid levels were increased through genetic means.

Omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA are thought to dampen inflammation in the body. They are often lacking in Western diets; instead, omega-6 fatty acids predominate. The ideal omega-6:omega-3 ratio is thought to be 2:1 to 5:1, whereas typical Western diets have ratios of 10:1 or higher. Premature infants are especially lacking in omega-3 fatty acids, because they miss getting this nutrient from their mothers, a transfer that normally happens in the third trimester of pregnancy.

The researchers demonstrated that the omega-3-based diet suppressed production of TNF-alpha, reducing the inflammatory response in the retina, whereas the omega-6-based diet increased TNF-alpha production. The retinas of omega-3-fed mice also had increased production of the anti-inflammatory compounds neuroprotectinD1, resolvinD1 and resolvinE1. These compounds, derived from omega-3 fatty acids, also potently protected against pathological vessel growth, and they were not detected in the retinas of mice fed the omega-6 diet.

“If omega-3 fatty acids, or these anti-inflammatory mediators, are as effective in humans and they are in mice, simple supplementation could be a cost-effective intervention benefiting millions of people,” says Smith, the study’s senior investigator. “The cost of blindness is enormous.”

Aside from fish-oil supplements, the most widely available source of omega-3 fatty acids is coldwater oily fish (wild salmon, herry, mackerel, anchovies, sardines). The compounds can also be made synthetically from algae or other non-fish sources.

Paul A. Sieving, MD, PhD, director of the NEI, which provided funding for the study, said, “This study shows the benefit of dietary omega-3 fatty acids in protecting against the development and progression of retinal disease. It gives us a better understanding of the biological processes that lead to retinopathy and how to intervene to prevent or slow disease. It will be interesting to see if human clinical trials show similar beneficial effects.”

The clinical trial at Children’s Hospital Boston will follow premature newborns who are unable to feed and are receiving parenteral nutrition, with omega-3 fatty acids as part of their IV solution. The hope is that the omega-3 supplementation will allow the retina and its vessels to develop normally. “Once the retina is detached, there’s little you can do,” says Smith. “We want to give omega-3 right from the beginning to mimic what the infants would be getting from their mothers in utero, had they not been born prematurely.”

In addition to retinopathy, the researchers speculate that omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce vision loss in people with “wet” or neovascular phase of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that also involves abnormal vessel growth. This possibility is now being explored in a large, NEI-funded clinical trial called AREDS2, coordinated by Emily Chew and John Paul SanGiovanni, both co-authors of the animal study. (See www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/viewStudyWeb.aspx?id=120.)

Drugs that block the growth factor VEGF are also being studied in the end stages of retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy, and have been approved for use in “wet” AMD, Smith notes. While injection of anti-VEGF compounds into the eye can block pathological vessel growth in the retina, omega-3 supplementation may reduce the need for repeated injections by preventing some patients from advancing to end-stage disease, she says.

[Ms. Kathy]

Stanchart Supports Eye Care With Over U.S. $442,000

Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
NEWS
13 July 2007
Posted to the web 13 July 2007


STANDARD CHARTERED Bank on Wednesday donated over USD442,000 to support eye care in Ghana through a Comprehensive Eye Care Project (CECP) under its "Seeing is Believing".

The Initiative seeks to restore sight to the curable blind and to prevent blindness.

Under this "Seeing is believing" project, Standard Chartered, in partnership with Sightsavers International and the Ministry of Health, will deliver comprehensive eye care in the Eastern Region of Ghana. This involves integrating all eye care into existing health facilities including referral hospitals, district hospitals and health centres.

The programme will target those who need help most, such as the rural population, under-privileged people, school children and students. Through this, the partnership aims to eliminate river blindness as a major public health problem, by supporting the Mectizan distribution programme, and provide sight restoring procedures and other eye care treatments.

Eye care infrastructure and personnel will also benefit from improved facilities and capacity building programmes. An estimated 1,076,318 people will benefit over a three year period, at a total cost of USD 553,000 out of which" Standard Chartered is providing 80% (i.e. USD442,4(0).

"Seeing is Believing" is a Standard Chartered global community initiative established in 2003 to celebrate the Bank's 150th anniversary.

As replicated in Ghana, the Initiative partners leading eye care agencies to support projects that have an immediate impact on people's lives and establish sustainable health care for the future. In its first phase in 2003, the emphasis was on sight restoration to the curable blind. Through this, over 56,000 sight restorations were undertaken across the world, well beyond its target of 28,000, which represented a sight restoration for every member of staff at that time.

After the success of the first phase, the second took off with considerably expanded parameters, to raise sufficient funds to contribute to 1,000,000 sight restorations by World Sight Day 2007 and the focus widened to accommodated the training of eye care workers and surgeons, and the development of training facilities and vision centres in addition to cataract operations. Presently, adequate funds to achieve this target have been raised, well ahead of the target date and over 750,000 cataract operations undertaken worldwide.

On World Sight Day 2006, Standard Chartered set another ambitious target, marking the third phase, to raise USD10 million to be used to make a difference to the lives of ten million people by World Sight Day 2010.

Four of Sightsavers' projects have so far been selected to receive funding from Phase 3, including the Eastern Region Comprehensive Eye Care Programme in Ghana.

Commenting on the contribution, Ebby Essoka, CEO Standard Chartered Central and West Africa said, "Blindness is not just a health issue; it is a poverty issue which has a huge economic impact and affects the lives of a great number of people across the communities in which Standard Chartered operates. A small amount of money can restore sight and make a big difference to someone's life, their family, community and their country's economy.

Through "Seeing is Believing" the Bank remains the Right Partner by building a sustainable business and impacting our environment positively."

The Country Representative for Sightsavers International in Ghana, James Anewenah, indicated that "Standard Chartered have proven that they are keen to raise the profile of avoidable blindness and raise money to help support Sightsavers' work. The "Seeing is Believing" partnership has enabled Standard Chartered Bank and Sightsavers International to strengthen relationships with government and other stakeholders and to make a contribution to local economic development as the prevention of blindness from River Blindness and restoration of sight allow people to either remain or re-enter the economic mainstream, rather than becoming financially and socially marginalised as a result of blindness.

Launching the CECP Project, Adair lord Turner of Ecchinswell, Non-Executive Director and Board Member of Standard Chartered PLC, mentioned that "90% of avoidable blindness occurs in the developing world. As the Best International Bank - Leading the Way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, we are extremely proud of the huge success of the "Seeing is Believing" initiative across this area, which also covers our footprint. This is our response to the developing world's need for a sustainable program which checks the effects of blindness which comes at an immense economic cost."

The Bank has also instituted an employee-volunteering programme under which its employees can engage in a community activity for two days outside their annual leave. Employees can therefore support projects like the CECP in the Eastern Region as their personal contribution to the community.

The Bank recognises its capacity for social and economic contribution, the need to protect the environment and be an example of good governance. In Ghana where its 111 years makes it one of the oldest businesses, Standard Chartered Bank has won praise and acclaim for its community initiatives.



Source Link: allAfrica.com allafrica.com/stories/200707130775.html

[Ms. Kathy]

Physicians: Add eye exam to student’s to-do list
by Josh Shaw
Source Link: Gazette.Net Maryland Community Newspapers On Line www.gazette.net/stories/082307/frednew64031_32364.shtml

As families prepare their children for the start of the new school year, parents buy school supplies and make doctor’s appointments.

But in addition to a routine physical, the Maryland Optometric Association recommends comprehensive eye exams, especially for kids entering preschool or kindergarten.
Dr. Mark Farbman of Long Meadow Optical in Frederick said the eye exams are important for children younger than 7.

‘‘Some conditions can only be detected by an eye exam, and eye condition could affect a child’s learning,” he said.

Having a routine eye exam may help correct more than a child’s ability to see clearly, and could help avoid common vision problems being misdiagnosed as learning disabilities, according to the Maryland Optometric Association.

‘‘Certain vision problems can manifest themselves as learning disorders,” Farbman said. ‘‘The exams can rule out vision problems that could interfere with learning.”

Dr. Eugene Channing is also an optometrist in Frederick, and agreed that an eye exam early in a child’s life is important.

‘‘Any preliminary examination is important to establish a normal baseline,” he said. ‘‘It is important to see the general development of a child’s vision.”

A comprehensive eye exam is also different from a screening test a child receives in school.

‘‘The screening tests are brief and superficial,” Farbman said. ‘‘A comprehensive eye exam screens for many more conditions.”

Although young children benefit the most from these exams, only 14 percent of children younger than 6 have received them, according to the U.S. Center for Health Statistics.

Vision problems such as nearsightedness and farsightedness can be detected through these exams are typically easy to correct immediately.

‘‘The earlier you identify a problem, the more likely it can be managed,” Channing said.

However, more serious conditions such as amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye, can also be detected.

[Ms. Kathy]

0.9 percent Pakistanis blind: NPPCB
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Source Link: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C08%5C26%5Cstory_26-8-

ISLAMABAD: Around 0.9 percent Pakistani population is blind, says a spokesperson for the National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Blindness (NPPCB).

The spokesperson, in a statement issued here on Saturday, said there are 45 million blind people in the world and 135 million people were suffering from serious visual impairment.

He said eye outpatients accounted for seven percent of all outdoor patients and eight percent of total surgeries performed in operation theatres were ophthalmologic surgeries.

He said the NPPCB was aimed at preventing blindness in two million people, restoring sight in two million people, preventing and treating blindness in 15,000 children and strengthening and upgrading 63 eye departments at the District Head Quarter (DHQ) hospitals. He said 29 eye departments would be upgraded across the country, lady health workers (LHW) would be trained in eye care services at the primary level. Monitoring and evolution departments in the DHQ hospitals will be opened in current fiscal year, he added. staff report

[Ms. Kathy]

It’s about changing lives


Source Link: www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=91674
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SIZZLING HOT By JULIANA PALERMO



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There are so many things we take for granted. Sometimes, we get used to having certain things or being in certain situations and think this is the normal way to live.



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The Philippine Star

There are so many things we take for granted.

Sometimes, we get used to having certain things or being in certain situations and think this is the normal way to live.

We are already blessed enough to have the sun shining on our face in the morning.

Having a new day to look forward to is not an option everyone has. We may not realize that every minute that passes is a precious gift the Higher being has granted us. We may not realize it, until it’s too late.

“Live life to the fullest,” has almost become just words we say that have lost its meaning.

I often forget that being able to see is already a big blessing on its own. We’re only humans who forget these things. We make mistakes each minute that passes by.

Last week, the universe has somehow found a way to call my heart into a life-changing sight.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I have a brother who is blind, and yet we treat him just like any other family member.

We don’t treat him any differently. I’ve tried to put him through music school, but some things got in the way and he wasn’t able to continue.

Last Wednesday, my manager called up and told me about the Resources for the Blind, Inc. (RBI).

He learned about the organization when he saw the Blind Child episode of GMA 7’s I-Witness. Howie Severino, the multi-awarded broadcast journalist, was the one responsible for the TV documentary about the plight of blind children.

RBI has been around for 20 years now. Dr. Arthur Lown was director of the Atlanta Public Schools Services for Blind Students.

He then moved to the Philippines to become administrator of the Manila branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Dr. Lown was blind since he was a child, and later decided to create a Braille version of the Filipino Bible.

A few years after Dr. Lown arrived in Manila, three blind Filipino pastors came to see him about his translation of the Bible.

Their gathering eventually resulted in the birth of RBI. As years went by, more and more people came for help, while Dr. Lown decided to produce other versions of the Bible.

In 1988, they formally decided to register RBI as a non-profit charitable organization with the Philippine government.

Little did they know, the small project would grow bigger and bigger each year as more and more blind Filipinos came for help.

They are still very determined to help the visually-impaired.

Preventing and curing blindness is their major purpose. They believe it’s only fair for the visually-impaired to do things other people do and they should not be treated any differently.

The organization offers pre-school program and training for parents.

Counseling and workshops for parents having a hard time accepting their child’s blindness are also available.

“Seeing the ability in disability,” is what they’re all about.

Every year, they do a one-week conference with their Top 20 high school students where they discuss ways to handle criticisms on blindness and how to deal with those who are able to see.

I never understood the effect of blindness. I didn’t realize how hard it could be to lose eyesight.

As I walked into their main office in Cubao, I was literally trying to catch my breath. The feeling of being around those innocent angels who are also blind like my brother is something I can never explain. You’ve got to see it to believe it. We had a quick tour around the learning space and I was able to mingle with some of the kids.

They were beautiful. Their innocence settled me in so quickly. I felt at peace around these children. And I wish my brother got the attention he deserved when we were younger. I also wondered how things would be now if we treated him differently since Day One.

[Ms. Kathy]

Screening initiative to 'prevent blindness'
Source Link: Belfast Today www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Screening-initiative-to-prevent-blindness.3179156.jp

Assembly has announced a new annual eye-screening programme to help prevent people with diabetes going blind.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey officially launched the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme (DRSP) yesterday.
The £800,000 investment will provide a comprehensive screening programme available to all GPs to enable eligible patients with diabetes to be examined every year for sight-threatening eye disease.
Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in people of working age.
It is also a major cause of blindness in older people.
Serious visual loss can be prevented by early detection and laser treatment.
Mr McGimpsey said: "With some three per cent of the population of Northern Ireland affected by diabetes, early detection of retinopathy enables treatment which can prevent serious visual loss and blindness.
"The screening programme, in which my department will be investing over £800,000 each year, will provide comprehensive screening across Northern Ireland for detection of eye disease and treatment.
"A key aspect of the programme is that the screening – provided in cooperation with GPs – will be offered to people at local and community-based facilities."
The programme aims to examine 55,000 people annually from the age of 12 and over from March next year.
The screening is a painless procedure which involves taking a digital photograph of the back of each eye and each test takes about 15 minutes.
Iain Foster, director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland, said: "Diabetes is a serious condition which if not carefully managed can lead to a range of life-threatening complications.
"Blindness is one of the complications which people with diabetes fear the most, so the introduction of this new screening programme will benefit tens of thousands of people across Northern Ireland.
"As someone living with diabetes, I can testify to the value of this programme and the reassurance it will give to thousands of people and their families."
Last Updated: 06 September 2007 9:03 AM

[Ms. Kathy]

Eye doc helps EthiopiansTrains surgical team in corneal transplants
September 19, 2007
By JULIE HORBAL, SUN MEDIA
Source Link:Winnipeg Sun.com winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2007/09/19/4507700-sun.html

Some of the Ehiopians helped by Dr. Stephen Brodovsky seen second from right. (HANDOUT)
Dr. Stephen Brodovsky knows a thing or two about eye-opening journeys.

When Brodovsky boarded an Ethiopia-bound plane in early June, the Winnipeg ophthalmologist took with him a box of donor corneas and plans to help reduce blindness in the developing country.

Within seven days of arriving in Jimma, he helped perform five corneal replacements and trained a surgical team to carry on the work.

"They have the knowledge and skills in Ethiopia, but they just lack resources," said Brodovsky. The aid mission was led by Orbis, an organization dedicated to reducing avoidable blindness in developing nations. There are more than 28 million such cases, and roughly a million are in Ethiopia.

With a high incidence of corneal infection and injury in the African country, Brodovsky said there's a high demand for eye surgery. He estimated Misericordia Health Centre, which takes care of the majority of Manitoba's eye surgeries, currently has an average of 90 patients waiting for corneal transplants at any given time and a patient catchment area of 1.2 million.

Ethiopia has a population of more than 80 million and a much poorer general standard of health than Manitoba, said Brodovsky.

"It's a very rewarding trip. The best part is going there and doing the work you do, knowing that you're teaching someone to help them do better," he said. "Rather than do the surgery and leave, you leave the knowledge behind."