A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET
Read more at healthinsight.ca
for the Canadian Council of the Blind
Vision Health Month 2022 PRE VENTABLE BLINDNESS
NATIONAL VISION HEALTH STRATEGY
VISION HEALTH DESK
The prevention, research, treatment, and rehabilitation of vision loss requires a national vision health strategy and a coordinated effort on the part of federal, provincial, and territorial governments.
I
INCREASE VISION HEALTH RESEARCH FUNDING
It’s essential that Health Canada establish a vision desk within the Public Health Agency to clearly focus government efforts on the prevention, research, treatment, and rehabilitation of vision loss.
Funding of vision health research in Canada is woefully inadequate. We must invest to find treatments for blinding eye diseases and lifechanging technologies for people currently living with vision loss.
Vision Partners Unite to Stop Preventable Blindness
t’s time to stop the crisis of preventable blindness. Currently, 1.2 million Canadians are blind, deaf-blind, or partially-sighted, and the number of Canadians living with vision loss is growing every day. Over eight million (that’s one in five) Canadians are living with an eye disease that puts them at significant risk of blindness. However, 75 percent of vision loss cases are preventable with early diagnosis and access to treatment. That’s why more education about eye health is required for Canadians. It’s in our power to end this crisis of preventable vision loss, and we must act now. The Canadian government’s lack of attention on eye health and vision care is having profound implications for individuals, communities, the economy, and our health care system. Prevention of vision loss requires a coordinated effort on the part of governments, individuals, and the health care system. An initiative of this sort should be based on a national vision health plan, one that
Dr. Harry Bohnsack, President
Colin G. Mann, MD, FRCSC, President
incorporates a vision desk dedicated to vision health at the Public Health Agency of Canada. It should also be supported with a substantial increase in funding for vision health research. The Government of Canada has stood four times before World Health Assemblies — in 2003, 2013, and twice in 2020 — voting to deliver a national vision health plan. More recently, for a fifth time on July 23, 2021, at the UN General Assembly, the Trudeau government, along with 193 countries, unanimously supported a motion calling for “Vision Care for Everyone by 2030.” We urge the government to keep its long-overdue promise and to develop a comprehensive national plan for vision health in Canada. The time to act is now. Sign the petition today at STOPVisionLoss.ca. Let’s stop the crisis of preventable vision loss and blindness. The vision loss community and its stakeholders stand ready to assist in developing this national vision health plan.
Jim Tokos, National President
John M. Rafferty, President & CEO
Jennifer Urosevic, President & CEO
Doug Earle, President & CEO
Laura Syron, President & CEO
Deborah Gold, Executive Director
Dr. Jane Barratt, Secretary General
Robert Dalton, Executive Director
SIGN THE PETITION NOW Go to STOPVisionLoss.ca STOP THE CRISIS OF PREVENTABLE BLINDNESS Strategic Account Director: Jessica Golyatov Content Strategist: Emma Yordanov Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Kylie Armishaw Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Toronto Start or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com. @MediaplanetCA
facebook.com/HealthInsightCA
Please recycle