11 October 2007
On Thursday, 11 October 2007, the Gauteng Department of Health will join the
rest of the world in commemorating the annual World Sight Day.
Held under the theme 'Vision for the Children', the aim of this day is to
educate the public about the importance of eye health and care especially for
children.
Throughout the world the second week of October is dedicated to an Eye Care
Awareness campaign on how to eliminate the causes of blindness. The World
Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than one million people in the
world are blind. WHO calls on the global community to join hands in preventing
the unnatural causes of blindness by, amongst other things, nurturing and
safeguarding the children's visual system.
This year's eye awareness campaign will be held from 8 to 12 October. During
this week eye care specialists across the country will be involved in various
initiatives to promote awareness, eye health, screen for errors and perform
sight restoration. Regional and academic hospitals will be engaged in eye
screening and operations.
During the provincial main event, which will be held at the Durban Deep
Primary School in Roodepoort, children will be screened and if necessary,
referred to optometrists for spectacles.
The details of the provincial event are as follows:
Date: 11 October 2007
Time: 09h00 to 13h00
Venue: Durban Deep Primary School, Roodepoort
Enquiries:
Zanele Mngadi
Cell: 082 330 1148
Howard Ndaba
Cell: 082 334 9851
Issued by: Department of Health, Gauteng Provincial Government
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gauteng.gov.za)
