Robin Muchetu Health and Gender Editor
Today Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Sight Day, observed annually on the second Thursday of October.
The day unites the global eye health community in raising awareness of the importance of eye health to the public, decision-makers, and service providers.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) globally, an estimated 2.2 billion people live with vision impairment with nearly half of the global burden with an impairment that could have been addressed with surgery or a pair of glasses.
Young children with early onset severe vision impairment can experience lower levels of educational achievement, and in adults it often affects quality of life through lower productivity, decreased workforce participation, and high rates of depression.
WHO has developed WHOeyes, a free mobile app for people to check their visual acuity through a self-assessment at home using a smartphone or tablet. WHOeyes does not replace eye examinations by an eye care professional, and regular professional eye examinations remain important regardless of the result.
This World Sight Day, WHO urges people to check their vision with WHOeyes. Take a moment to know your vision, care for your eyes, and encourage those around you to do the same.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, says clear vision allows children to learn, adults to earn a living and older people to retain their independence.
“Yet, millions of people across Africa live with vision loss that could have been prevented or treated. Today, on World Sight Day 2026, I call on governments, partners, health workers and communities to accelerate efforts to bring affordable, quality eye care within everyone’s reach.
Uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts are the leading causes of vision loss in the African Region,” he said.
Dr Janabi said proven and cost-effective interventions are available for both, but coverage is still far too low. Only about 30 percent of people who need spectacles receive correction that restores good vision, while effective cataract surgical coverage is estimated at around 24 percent.
“These figures reflect the daily experiences of children who struggle to read in school, adults whose livelihoods are affected and older people who lose their independence because they cannot get a pair of spectacles, or the surgery they need.
“Integrating eye health into primary health care can help detect vision problems earlier and connect people with treatment closer to home. Countries also need reliable data to identify underserved populations, improve services and measure whether treatment is restoring people’s sight,” he said.
@NyembeziMu
