Cambodia Secretary of State HE Sea Huong kicked off World Sight Day 2022 celebrations with the theme, “LOVE YOUR EYES”. During the event at Phnom Penh Hotel, the Royal Government of Cambodia awarded medals of honor to senior health officials and development partners for their outstanding contributions to the country’s eye health sector in the last 30 years.
More
than 100 participants joined the celebration, including key representatives
from the Ministry of Health, National Program for Eye Health, Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Social
Affairs, Disability Action Council, Australian Embassy, Provincial Health
Departments, Hospital staff, and eye health organizations such as SEVA
Foundation, Eye Care Foundation, Sight For All, Caritas Takeo eye hospital,
BoC, Heart-to-Heart Foundation, and The Fred Hollows Foundation.
World
Sight Day is a global day of awareness that aims to bring attention to the
importance of eye care. The awareness campaign advocates for eye healthcare
that is accessible, inclusive, and affordable to everyone, everywhere.
The
main causes of blindness and vision impairment in Cambodia are cataract and
uncorrected refractive error. Among adults aged 50 and above, vision impairment
due cataract accounts for 80.4 percent the cases and uncorrected refractive
error accounts for 61.2 percent Effective eye health progammes are needed to
address these problems urgently.
“Eye
care providers should provide quality services,” HE Huong urged national and
subnational eye care providers. He also appealed to all partners and stakeholders,
including teachers, community members, and parents,
“Vision
impairment affects people of all ages and blindness can have major and
long-lasting effects on all aspects of life,” the Secretary of State said. The
Australian Deputy Head of Mission, Mr Andreas Zurbrugg, was also present at the
event.
“In
Australia, Fred Hollows is an icon. His work in rural indigenous communities
and developing countries around the world to promote eye health and restore
eyesight to millions through initiatives including the Fred Hollows Foundation
has made him a national treasure. His legacy is still celebrated throughout
Australia today. His face was recently on a special edition of the Australian $
1 coin, in 2017 a new ferry in Sydney was named Fred Hollows in his honor, ”Mr
Zurabrugg said.
Among
the NGO partners present at the event is The Fred Hollows Foundation.
The
Foundation’s Cambodia Country Manager Mr Tokyo Bak talked about the importance
of implementing the National Strategic Plan for Blindness Prevention and
Control (2021-2030) at the provincial level. “To ensure the success of our eye
health programs, it is important to have provincial eye health roadmaps that
are aligned with our national strategic plan – fully resourced from the
national budget and supported by development partners,” Mr Bak said.
“On
behalf of the Cambodian people, we are grateful for the generous support we
receive from our local partners and international funders,” Mr Bak said. This
year, The Fred Hollows Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary, with a
milestone achievement of having restored sight to more than 3 million people
worldwide.
Since
1998, The Foundation has been delivering its sight-saving work in Cambodia, in
close collaboration with government partners and other development
organizations.
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