World Sight Day 2021: #LoveYourEyes, is the theme of the international day which aims at highlighting the importance of being aware of one’s own eye health.
World Sight Day (WSD), an international day of awareness for eye sight, is observed annually on the second Thursday of October, aiming to draw attention on the global issue of eye health. This year, World Sight Day falls on October 14.
Drawing attention towards blindness, visual impairments, and the prevention methods of eye sight, the day is considered as the most important advocacy and communications event on the eye health calendar.
World Sight Day History
World Sight Day (WSD) was initiated in the year 2000 as part of the SightFirst Campaign which was launched by the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF).
The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and the World Health Organization (WHO) together coordinate and organise World Sight Day (WSD) every year.
Different countries around the world have been observing this event in different ways.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom joined the agency’s cause in 2020.
World Sight Day Significance
On World Sight Day, IAPB raises public awareness on blindness and vision impairment as major international public health issues.
Its members further influence governments and health ministers of different countries to participate in and designate funds for national blindness prevention programmes.
World Sight Day 2021 Theme
The theme of World Sight Day 2021 is #LoveYourEyes which has been chosen to address the bigger picture of eye health at the national and global levels, and to highlight the importance of being aware of one’s own eye health.
World Sight Day 2021 and 4 Ps
IAPB has listed out four Ps as it exhorts people to “love your eyes” — prevent sight loss, protect, preserve and prioritise vision.