The 3rd National Survey on Blindness in the Philippines of 2004 says prevalence of visual impairment among children (0 to 20 years old) is 0.43.
(the dilemma in this survey is that children age range is up to 20 years old. For PhilHealth, a dependent child is below 21, in the convention of the rights of the child - a child means every human being below the age of 18 years (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm), quoting "Child and Youth Welfare Code": "It shall apply to persons below 21 years of age" P.D. #603, in Philippine Law, "Child" refers to a person under the age of eighteen (18) years - (http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_9344_2006.html) )
Isn't it even more confusing now? Let us wait for the result of the 4th National Survey on Blindness maybe then there will be an agreed definition as to what is the age range of a Filipino child.
Worldwide, a person goes blind every 5 seconds and a child goes blind every minute, and the children most at risk are those 5 years old and below.
An estimated 1.4 million children are blind worldwide and millions more are visually impaired.
An estimated 1.4 million children are blind worldwide and millions more are visually impaired.
In developing countries, like the Philippines, 60% of children will die within one year of becoming blind and the remainder will, on average, spend 40 years without sight.
90% of blind children receive no schooling and the majority will not grow up to achieve their full potential.
Prevalence
of childhood blindness is
almost 1% of the world population.
Costs
for childhood blindness are
estimated between $6 billion and $27 billion.
About
70% of childhood blindness is
thought to be preventable.
In
developing countries, 60%-80% of blind children die within 1-2
years.
Vision problems affect 1 in 20 preschoolers and 1 in 4
school-age children.
The
global prevalence of childhood blindness is
thought to be around 0.07%, or approximately one tenth of the
prevalence of blindness in
adults (Rahi et al. Measuring the burden of childhood blindness.
Br J Ophthalmol. 1999 Apr;83(4):387-8)
In
developing countries, it is believed that 60-80% of children who
become blind die within 1-2 years (Lewallen, S and Courtright,
P.Blindness in
Africa: present situation and future needs. Br J Ophthalmol. 2001
Aug;85(8):897-903)
the
prevalence of bilateral blindness in
developing countries in Asia ranges from 0.3% of 4.4% (Saw et al.
Causes of blindness and
low vision in rural Indonesia. Br J Ophthalmol. 2003
Sep;87(9):1075-8)
Perhaps
up to one hundred children lose their sight every week in the
Philippines.
Facts
About Blindness and
Eye Health
Worldwide
•
Somewhere
in the world, someone goes blind every five seconds.
•
A
child goes blind every minute.
•
Eighty
percent of all blindness is
preventable or curable.
•
It
is estimated that at least 7 million people go blind every year.
•
Worldwide
some 180 million people are blind or visually disabled—the
equivalent of two-thirds of the entire U.S. population.
•
Rates
of blindness will
double by the year 2020 unless prevention efforts are intensified.
•
People
in developing countries represent 90 percent of the world’s blind
population and are 10 times more likely to go blind than those
in developed countries.
•
Africa
averages just one ophthalmologist for every 1.25 million people
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