Doha: In recognition of the World Sight Day which will be marked this year under the theme “Stronger Together”, the Ministry of Public Health has recently organised events and awareness activities in collaboration with Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Primary Health Care Corporation and Qatar Social and Cultural Centre for Blind.
The activities took place at 13 independent schools with an aim to raise health awareness about vision impairment and eye diseases. The activities were carried out by a team from Control of Blindness Programme, Public Health Department, and included lectures for parents and students on eye diseases and conditions that can cause blindness, the importance of regular eye check-up for diagnosis and early treatment.
Also, specialists from Qatar Social and Cultural Centre for Blind showcased a brief on the centre and the daily life of blind persons, as well as the important problems facing them and ways of using the white cane during walking.
The World Sight Day is an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of avoidable visual impairment and blindness.
This year’s theme — “Stronger Together” highlights the importance of the collective work among all the state’s sectors and institutions to provide financial support for the control of blindness programmes as well as educating the targeted group who have risk factors such as the elderly, children and diabetics.
