Blindness problem in Africa
So, continuing our talk about vision. I guess I was trying to clear out that our eyes don't perceive pictures or bodies but instead they only transfer the reality into dots of color (black, yellow, red, white,...) and transmit those dots to the brain and it is up to the brain to reassemble the picture ...just like the pixels in the camera.
Have you thought about color blindness?
Is your green my green?
Well for me I can't imagine what does your green look like!?!
But I can't imagine life without colors whatever those colors are? so how about BLINDNESS?
In my opinion, vision is our most precious gift. Everybody has the right to see life and enjoy it, that's why blindness is a major tragedy.....especially if it is Avoidable !!!
First you need to know that about 80% of blindness cases in the world could have been avoided or can be treated....Yes 80% !!!
Causes of avoidable blindness include: Cataract, Trachoma, Childhood Blindness, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, Riverblindness ...etc.
Of course the whole world is prone to these causes but Africa is the most prone continent. I will just talk about one of these problems; Onchocerciasis (Riverblindness). About 99% of all victims of Riverblindness are Africans. In Africa, about 30 countries are targets to Riverblindness. It is caused by the blackflies bite, these insect live near rivers (hence the name). The problem in this infection is that, not only are humans blinded by this insect bite, but humans are the carriers of the disease also. So, if someone is bitten by the blackflies the "larvae" grow inside nodules and once grown to "microfilariae" they migrate to the skin where other blackflies can carry them to other victims and so forth...by the way blackflies are very high-standard flies... the are exclusive to humans ...Aren't we lucky !?!?!
Now to the positive side, there are many initiatives made to combat causes of avoidable blindness. Also, many ophthalmology clinics and centers in Africa are combating blindness in Africa, but where there is poverty, low water supply and endemic insects the fight is not fair. That is why everybody should be participating in this battle against blindness in Africa!!!
I hope I got your attention....I feel that the subject is of great importance...that is why I dedicated a post (the previous post "My Vision of Vision") as an introduction and now I urge you to help out...LOOK around.... SEE how much you love to live your life enjoying everything you SEE around you... LOOK at your friends....LOOK at your family...LOOK at a newly born child....LOOK at a flower ....and as much as you love these things, you...I mean..."WE"...we all have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to help preventing blindness from victimizing another human being ....there are many ways you can help.... I can give you an example;
VISION 2020
"VISION 2020" is an initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness. This initiative is a collaboration between WHO (World Health Organization) and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Vision 2020 initiative includes technical training, workshops, international plans and raising the community awareness to the avoidable causes of blindness among other activities.
As a first step, you help spreading the info about Vision 2020 around and then surf the website to see how can you share and help out
Vision 2020....(http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?type=IDX)
For more info about Avoidable Blindness:
Prevention of blindness and visual Impairment (http://www.who.int/blindness/causes/priority/en/index3.html)
World Blank partnership for eliminating Riverblindness (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20267235~menuPK:538692~pagePK:146736~piPK:226340~theSitePK:258644,00.html)
ORBIS International Unites East African Nations Against Avoidable Blindness
(http://www.orbis.org/Default.aspx?cid=7608&lang=1)
Image credit by NPS Graphics, converted by User:ZyMOS via Wikimedia Commons
