World Sight Day 2007

Children at Melbourne’s Queensberry Children’s Centre are on the look out for ways to protect their vision, ahead of World Sight Day on Thursday 11th October.

Centre for Eye Research Australia staff Melanie Larizza and Dr Mark Daniell visited the Queensberry Centre recently to present a special eye health clinic, impressing the importance of good eye care. About 50 children, aged three to five years old, participated in the clinic.

Dr Daniell says the interactive clinic encouraged children to protect their eyes from harmful UV sun damage and to notify their parents or teacher if they have trouble seeing.

“It’s also important that parents have their children’s eyes examined early in life. Early detection and treatment of any developing eye conditions assist a child’s development and participation in their community,” Dr Daniell says.

World Sight Day 2007 celebrates a ‘vision for children:’ that they have the best possible vision to last their lifetime; that they can lead active and independent lives; that they have access to good eye care services; and that their birthplace does not deny them the right to sight.

It is estimated that half of the world’s 1.4 million children living without sight are blinded from avoidable causes.

Further information about World Sight Day 2007 is available Vision 2020 Australia’s website: www.vision2020australia.org.au