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Saturday 15 December 2012

NGOs tackle age-related sight loss



Three non-government organisations (NGOs) have come together to tackle the burden of age-related sight loss in Europe.
 
AMD Alliance International (AMDAI), World Blind Union (WBU) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) Italy have launched a campaign today (December 13) to ‘disarm a European time bomb of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) sight loss.’ 
 
The organisations will provide tools for healthcare practitioners and local organisations which will help them raise awareness among the general public and plan appropriate interventions.
 
“We all have a role in preventing AMD and other eye diseases,” said Narinder Sharma, CEO of AMDAI. “The toolkit we are launching today at our Regional EU meeting in Rome should, in the first place, help local organisations and healthcare practitioners develop awareness-raising initiatives for older people who are at a higher risk of developing AMD, but also their friends, relatives and carers.” 
 
The initiative comes amidst a wider campaign of the European Forum Against Blindness which is seeking to raise these issues with the European Institutions and governments to reduce the incidence and burden of preventable blindness in Europe.
 
“In 2013 we will launch a Call to Action to EU policy makers as we believe that this problem is neglected at the moment,” said Ms Sharma. 
 
The toolkit can be found at www.amdalliance.org/wbu

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