World Retina Day being observed today

Islamabad : Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB) is observing World Retina Day today (September 24) along with Retina International (RI), an NGO which acts as the voice of 43 countries, funding research into rare, genetic, and age-related forms of sight loss.

World Retina Day is taking place this year on Saturday, September 24th, 2022. This is an important day for the community and we encourage you to get involved in raising awareness for retinal degenerations in any way you can, whether that be organizing an event or sharing content on social media.

The retina, at the back of the eye, is a thin sheet of interconnected nerve cells including the light sensitive cells (rods and cones). It is here that light is converted into electrical signals to the brain where ‘seeing’ takes place. In Retinitis Pigmentosa, the rod and cone cells degenerate. The rate of progression varies. There is no cure at this time. Retina disorders can affect the way that you process visual information and lead to distorted or absent vision. They can affect your vision, and some can be serious enough to cause blindness. Retinal Disorders can cause Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Eye Disease, Retinal Detachment, Cancer of the Retina, Macular Pucker, Macular holes and floaters.

This World Retina Day, the team at Retina International is raising awareness for the experiences of the visually impaired community as the world comes out of lockdown. The community is facing significant challenges in this “new normal” including reduced mobility, further reduced access to work and education, and reduced support for their wellbeing. We’re calling for society at large not to leave anyone in the dark as we emerge into the light. Would you like to join us in this campaign? We encourage you to share your own stories about what challenges you have faced post-lockdown. How has the world changed for you and what do you think can be improved to ensure the wellbeing and inclusion of those living with sight loss during this new normal?

Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness has also made elaborate plans to celebrate this international event. Several programs will be organized in this context. PFFB will disseminate information through public awareness sessions and on major radio, print and electronic media to propagate this cause. PFFB has played an indispensable role in finding a cure for retinal degenerative diseases. PFFB is helping visually impaired persons to make them productive members of the society since 1988. During the year 2021-2022, PFFB with support of Government of Pakistan and other donor organizations, abled to benefitted 4291 visually impaired students all over Pakistan through services of education, IT infrastructure support, online capacity building trainings in IT, Personality Grooming and livelihood, assistive aids and technical troubleshooting, e-books scanning, internship opportunities, awareness and counselling.