World Health Organization's programme on the prevention of blindness

The WHO Programme for the Prevention of Blindness was established in 1978, reflecting the need for action against the burden of avoidable blindness, which constitutes an increasingly serious socioeconomic problem in many countries. A vast majority of the world's blind live in developing countries, where unoperated cataract, trachoma, xerophthalmia and onchocerciasis are the main causes of visual loss. Thus, more than two-thirds of blindness encountered in such areas is either preventable or curable. The objectives of the WHO Programme for the Prevention of Blindness are to reduce the amount of avoidable blindness in developing countries, and to make essential eye care available to all. In order to achieve this, blindness prevention must form part of primary health care, which is the basic strategy of the World Health Organization to attain the overall goal of "Health for All by the Year 2000". Emphasis is placed on the establishment of national programmes for the prevention of blindness, geared to local needs and resources. This implies a need for a careful programming process, in relation to the general provision of health services.