Childhood blindness in the context of VISION 2020 - The Right to Sight

The major causes of blindness in children vary widely from region to region , being largely determined by socioeconomic development, and the availabili ty of primary health care and eye care services. In high-income countries, lesions of the optic nerve and higher visual pathways predominate as the ca use of blindness, while corneal scarring from measles, Vitamin A deficiency , the use of harmful traditional eye remedies, and ophthalmia neonatorum ar e the major causes in law-income countries. Retinopathy of prematurity is a n important cause in middle-income countries. Other significant causes in a ll countries are cataract, congenital abnormalities, and hereditary retinal dystrophies. It is estimated that, in almost half of the children who are blind today, the underlying cause could have been prevented, or the eye con dition treated to preserve vision or restore sight. The control of blindness in children is a priority within the World Health Organization's VISION 2020 programme. Strategies need to be region specific , based on activities to prevent blindness in the community through measles immunization, health education, and control of vitamin A deficiency - and the provision of tertiary-level eye care facilities far conditions that req uire specialist management.