Magnitude of Blindness:
Today there are about 50 million blind people in the world and 135 million more suffering from low vision. The numbers are staggering, and so is the fact that more than 80% of this blindness is needless- which means it can be prevented or cured. This is a huge problem- yes. But it is also a problem that we can and must do something to fix.

The Solution?
More than 90% of the world's blind live in developing countries. In order to help them a community-based approach to eye health is very important. This means that people must be trained to deliver appropriate eye care that is both affordable and accessible. Health workers must learn to plan, implement and assess services to the community so that existing resources are used effectively. Community participation plays a major role in this approach.

VISION 2020: The Right To Sight
This WHO initiative was designed to intensify and accelerate present day blindness prevention programmes. Their goal is the elimination of needless blindness by the year 2020.

Who Are We?
As the problem of blindness continues to grow, eye care managers everywhere are now faced with the challenge of fast-tracking the implementation of Vision 2020 programs. To assist in this process, the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (a not-for-profit that is part of The Aravind Eye Care System, India) took on the responsibility of conceptualizing, developing and running Vision 2020 e-Resource with funding from the International Eye Foundation, USA