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The World Glaucoma Day: A WGA/AIGPO initiative
March 6, 2008 GLOBAL, WORLD
George Lambrou
Fighting the glaucoma pandemic poses some complex challenges. Although this disease is globally one of the first causes of blindness, it doesn't elicit a 'sympathy factor' like other blinding diseases, mainly because of the wide geographical variation of required glaucoma-prevention measures. More specifically, in developing countries plagued by cataract or river-blindness, there is little incentive to invest resources in diagnosing a disease that will require lifelong treatment and sophisticated follow-up. In developed countries, the pharma industry and the health authorities alike consider that it is a relatively well-addressed disease with limited unmet needs - especially compared to conditions like cancer, AIDS or, in the ophthalmology area, retinal degenerations. Furthermore, the specific visual needs of the glaucoma patients are not well known by the authorities, the doctors - nor by the patients themselves, sometimes!
Add to these considerations the amazing fact that globally, for every diagnosed glaucoma patient there is an undiagnosed one, and the need for increased glaucoma awareness, advocacy, prevention and education becomes obvious. To jumpstart a global and highly visible effort to coordinate activities in these areas, the WGA and AIGPO have taken the initiative of organizing the first World Glaucoma Day on March 6, 2008, hopefully to be established as an annual event. While significant efforts are directed at achieving recognition of the WGD by national or international organizations (several countries are considering issuing WGD stamps, for instance), this will mostly be a day for local events to be simultaneously organized around the globe: newspaper articles, radio/TV coverage, screening campaigns, 'open-door' days at glaucoma clinics and so on. As these events will ultimately rely on voluntary work at every level, the WGA is calling upon all enthusiastic and resourceful volunteers, to propose and implement new ideas for local and global events, in order to make the first World Glaucoma Day a resounding success.
