PAO marks Sight Saving Month

MANILA, Philippines - August is Sight Saving Month. To kick off another year of activities aimed at preventing and treating blindness among Filipinos, the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology (PAO), together with the National Committee on Sight Preservation (NCSP) and the Lions Club of District 301-A2, organized the “Walk for Sight,” a parade event on the first day of August along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

Members from the ophthalmology departments of various hospitals in Metro Manila and industry partners in eye care also participated in the event under PAO’s banner.

Donning red shirts, they marched starting from the PICC grounds up to Rizal Park. Ending the event was a wreath-laying ceremony complete with military honors at the Rizal Shrine as tribute to one of our country’s most notable ophthalmologists, Dr. Jose Rizal.

Before coming to the event, Dr. Carlos Naval, PAO president, attended a meeting with the Department of Health, the NCSP and the various NGOs that comprise its membership regarding the various eye care initiatives in support of Vision 2020.

Naval said Vision 2020 is “the WHO-led initiative to which all signatories, including the Philippines, commit to reducing the prevalence of blindness in their respective countries to <0.5 percent.”

Various groups are focusing on eye problems in those who are most vulnerable: the marginalized sectors of society, the children and those who live in remote rural areas.

The DOH, represented by Director Ed Genairo, renewed its commitment to visual health initiatives. They will review the existing programs and support the work of the NCSP, particularly in strengthening the Lions directed Eye Sight for Kids program and the PAO’s efforts to include screening for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) in the screening program for newborns.

For more information on PAO, visit www.pao.org.ph.