Optometry Giving Sight

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Latest News 2011 World Sight Day Challenge in Singapore

2011 World Sight Day Challenge in Singapore

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To mark World Sight Day on 13 October, some 250 Singapore senior citizens on public assistance had their eyes screened for pathology and refraction at no charge by the optometry departments of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Manchester University. The underprivileged senior elderly were mainly from North East Community Development Council (CDC) and North West CDC. The Health Promotion Board endorsed this initiative.

“Singapore faces a rapidly ageing population and at-risk groups are needy elderly who don’t have the financial means and who lack awareness of what’s needed to age healthily,” says Stan Isaacs, Chairman of Optometry Giving Sight Singapore. “Prevention of blindness through regular eye examinations and the use of spectacles to see are what most people take for granted. But for senior citizens who struggle to make ends meet, they go about their daily living being unaware of the importance of regular checks.”

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More than a third of the 670 million people worldwide are vision impaired simply because they do not have access to an eye examination and spectacles live in Southeast Asia. Many of these men, women and children are unable to see to, care for and provide for their families. In addition, children are unable to study to advance in life and get out of poverty. According to research published in 2009, there are an estimated 29,410 people in Singapore with uncorrected refractive error at distance. A 2008 study suggests there are 636,450 people with uncorrected near vision, or presbyopia.

Industry partners for the Singapore initiative included Abbott Medical Optics, Carl Zeiss, Novartis, CooperVision and Essilor.  Nanyang Optical, Optical 88, Paris Miki and Stan Isaacs kindly donated the spectacle frames for this screening. This event was also supported by the Singapore Optometric Association (SOA), Society of Opticianry Practitioners (Singapore) and Singapore Contact Lens Society, who volunteered their members to help in the screening.

Essilor Singapore also ran a very successful Company Challenge for World Sight Day Challenge 2011, selling plush toys to raise funds for Optometry Giving Sight.

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