Taiwan Prevent Blindness Foundation’s Efforts in Responding to World Sight Day

Every year on World Sight Day, Taiwan Prevent Blindness Foundation actively calls on society to focus on ophthalmological research and eye health. For the past three years, the foundation has honored outstanding researchers in the field of ophthalmology through the ” Jui-Fang Tsai MD Ophthalmology Academic Promote Award.” In addition, through World Sight Day campaigns, raise awareness about children’s eye care, with a special focus on the visual development needs of premature infants.

“Love Your Eyes, Kids”: Raising Awareness for Children’s Eye Health

World Sight Day, designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) on the second Thursday of October each year, aims to promote global attention to eye health. This year, Taiwan Prevent Blindness Foundation focused on children’s eye health with the theme “Love Your Eyes, Kids,”, especially early detection and prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).

To support this, the Foundation invited Dr. Wei-Chi Wu, the Professor & Chairman from Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, who is also last year’s winners of Golden Eye Award of Jui-Fang Tsai MD Ophthalmology Academic Promote Award to give a special lecture. Dr. Wu highlighted the impact of insufficient outdoor activities on children’s vision development. Statistics show that Taiwanese children spend only half as much time outdoors compared to their Australian peers. Dr. Wu also stressed the importance of increasing outdoor activity for premature infants after treatment to reduce the risk of vision decline.

Promoting Academic Exchange and International Impact in Ophthalmology To enhance international academic exchanges and further increase the global impact of Taiwan’s ophthalmological research, the Jui-Fang Tsai MD Ophthalmology Academic Promote Award rigorously selects and honors outstanding researchers in this field. Recent research topics, including treatments for ROP and oxidative stress after myopia correction surgery, have been published in renowned international journals such as Eye, Ophthalmologica, and Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, contributing to advancements in the global ophthalmology community.

This year, the Golden Eye Award was awarded to Dr. Yin-Hsi Chang from Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital for her significant contribution related to ocular infections and the distribution of normal flora on the eye surface in Taiwan.

Mission of Taiwan Prevent Blindness Foundation

Founded in 2017, the Taiwan Prevent Blindness Foundation is dedicated to promoting eye health knowledge and improving access to ophthalmological services, particularly in underserved areas. The foundation has provided free eye examinations in rural areas, hosting over 50 free eye camps and serving more than 4,000 individuals. Additionally, the foundation has conducted health education in schools and communities, using VR simulations to raise awareness about eye protection, reaching over 30,000 people. Furthermore, the foundation has launched an international eye care project in developing countries, providing ophthalmic services to remote areas of Nepal. Going forward, the foundation will continue to drive blindness prevention initiatives, connecting government, industries, and civil society to support international eye care campaigns.