Over 500,000 Pinoys have bilateral blindness

MANILA, Philippines - There are 569,072 Filipinos suffering bilateral blindness, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Of this number, 62.1 percent is due to cataract, 10.3 percent due to uncorrected refractive errors, 8 percent due to glaucoma and 4 percent due to retinopathies.

Those who have low vision – moderate to severe visual impairment – number 1,962,317, of which 53 percent is due to errors of refraction, 40.8 percent due to cataract, 2.2 percent due to maculopathy and 2 percent due to retinopathy.

In line with the celebration of the Sight Saving Month this August, the DOH urges individuals aged 12 and above to undergo eye examination to prevent visual impairment.

In a statement, Health Secretary Enrique Ona stressed that possible eye ailment could immediately be addressed by undergoing an eye examination.

“Good eyesight is a basic right that should be accorded to everyone without discrimination as to age, sex, gender, religion, race or social standing,” Ona noted.

Globally, there were 285 million people who have visual impairment last year. About 39 million of them are blind while 246 million have low vision, according to a World Health Organization report released in June 2012.

The leading causes of blindness are cataract, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.

But about 80 percent of all the visual impairments can be avoided or cured. These include avoidable and treatable conditions like cataract, error of refraction and childhood blindness. The top three causes of visual impairment are uncorrected refractive errors, cataract and glaucoma.

“Avoidable blindness and visual impairment is a serious global health issue. It imposes significant health, social, and economic burden on individuals and communities,” the DOH said.