What’s Important About the Year 2020?
It is the year 2020.
This also correlates to 20-20 vision, right?
What 2020 also correlates to is VISION 2020 from WHO (World Health Organization). What is 2020, you may ask? According to WHO itself:
VISION 2020 is a global initiative that aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. It was launched on 18 February 1999 by the World Health Organization together with the more than 20 international non-governmental organisations involved in eye care and prevention and management of blindness that comprise the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). VISION 2020 is a partnership that provides guidance, technical and resource support to countries that have formally adopted its agenda.
The mission of the VISION 2020 Global Initiative is to eliminate the main causes of all preventable and treatable blindness as a public health issue by the year 2020.
The objectives of VISION 2020 are three-fold:
- Raise the profile, among the key audiences, of the causes of avoidable blindness and the solutions that will help to eliminate the problem.
- Identify and secure the necessary resources around the world in order to provide an increased level of prevention and treatment programmes.
- Facilitate the planning, development and implementation of the three core Vision 2020 strategies by National Programmes.
Why Is This Important?
All of this is important for us at the Give Me Sight Foundation, as our Mission has always been right in line with WHO’s VISION 2020. Dr Haines has always sought to not only cure cataract-blindness on his missions but also to educate local medical staff how to do this job effectively, donate much-needed equipment and bring the attention of the world to our ability to cure blindness.
Our goals for 2020 are to continue and expand upon our mission, both locally and abroad. Now that we have Dr Rebecca Armour leading missions as well, this year we will go on more cataract-removal missions abroad than ever before. And through our new collaboration with White Bird Clinic in our hometown of Eugene, we will be able to provide free eye care, and medical equipment, for the Eugene’s medically underserved.
Join Our Cause
If you would like to join our cause of curing blindness internationally, and/or providing advanced eye care for medically underserved populations locally, you can make a tax-deductible donation! And with your donation, you can rest assured that almost 100% of your donation will go to our cause!