Abstract

SA.22.11

Childhood/nutritional blindness

També E. A.
Mbingo Baptist Hospital, Cameroon

Childhood blindness with more than 70 million blind-person-years is a major public health problem and one of the targets of VISION 2020 – The Right To Sight.
Defining blindness as visual acuity in the better eye less than 3/60, about 1.4 million children aged less than 15 years are blind and 500,000 children get blind every year – a child gets blind every minute.
73% of the blind children are in developing countries.
50 – 60% of blind children die within 2 years.
The major causes of childhood blindness vary from region to region. Corneal scarring due to Vitamin A deficiency is the commonest cause of childhood blindness.
40% of childhood blindness is avoidable using presently available knowledge, skills and technology.

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