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Unit 9: Visually Impaired: Preventions and Teaching Strategies

directed treatment with ivermectin and the SAFE strategy for trachoma control, and their Notes
adoption by Member States and international partners. This unified approach facilitated
preventive efforts aimed at millions of individuals at risk of visual loss, and convinced major
donors that long-term commitment is required.
Subsequently, major shifts in the pattern of causes of blindness have been documented, with a
declining trend for the communicable causes and a progressive increase in age-related chronic
eye conditions. Public health interventions for some of the major conditions such as cataract
and diabetic retinopathy have been systematically reviewed and respective WHO
recommendations have been formulated. Strategies are needed to control other conditions such
as glaucoma.
By October 2008, 150 Member States have held national or subnational VISION 2020 workshops
to introduce WHO’s strategies for eye health. These workshops were the platform for sharing
expertise about community eye health and facilitated the process of needs assessment and
subsequent formulation of national and subnational blindness-prevention plans.
(iv) Prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment as a global health issue: Reliable
epidemiological data and the availability of cost-effective interventions for the control of most
of the major causes of avoidable blindness have demonstrated the importance of strengthening
national initiatives in preserving eye health. In resolutions WHA56.26 and WHA59.25, the Health
Assembly recommended a unified approach to blindness-prevention activities, urging Member
States to establish national committees, to set up national blindness-prevention plans, and to
devise strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for their implementation. In addition, it
has been recognized that advocacy for preventing visual loss needs to reach a wider audience,
and that the importance of preserving eye health needs to be further promoted in the public
health domain and the community.
In some countries the impact of Health Assembly resolutions on allocation of new resources for
development and implementation of blindness-prevention plans has fallen short of expectations.
In most countries action is slow and progress in implementing adequate blindness-prevention
activities is limited.
Plans and programmes on blindness prevention exist at global level and in some cases at regional
level, but action is now required to provide support to Member States in applying international
experience and scientific evidence in order to develop and implement their own blindness-
prevention measures. Further action is required to integrate the eye-health agenda and its impact
on poverty alleviation in the overall development agenda.
(v) International partnerships: Over the past decade, major international partnerships have been
forged to assist WHO in providing support to Member States in their efforts to prevent blindness,
such as “VISION 2020: the Right to Sight”. The partnerships have made substantial progress,
mostly in combating infectious causes of blindness. They have also encouraged and supported
long-term resource mobilization, including donation programmes (e.g. the Merck donation
programme for ivermectin to control onchocerciasis, and distribution of azithromycin under a
donation programme by Pfizer to control trachoma). Global partnerships have united and
substantially strengthened the key international stakeholders in their action to prevent blindness,
using WHO disease control strategies.
Coordination and timely evaluation of work undertaken by international partners is required
so that their approaches are aligned with other activities in the area of blindness prevention.
Despite some notable improvements in collecting data on blindness-prevention activities at the
country and subnational levels, consolidated reporting remains limited. One reason is the
weakness of many countries’ monitoring systems, another being the limited information sharing
and exchange between countries and their international partners.
The action now required is to improve coordination and information exchange between all
stakeholders.

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