Organizations
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision - Helen Keller
image by: International Council of Ophthalmology
HWN Suggests
Making Eyecare And Vision Screening Accessible To All
As a young student in the U.K., Andrew Bastawrous was curious and bright, but to the surprise of his teachers, he struggled with schoolwork. The mystery was solved when, at age 12, an optometrist tested his eyesight and found that he was severely visually impaired. Andrew remembers his first moments wearing glasses: “For the first time, I saw that trees had leaves on them, and that night, I saw stars in the sky that took my breath away.”
Worldwide, 36 million people are unable to see, with 80-90% living in developing countries. What's more, 80% are blind from causes that are curable or preventable. Andrew realized early on that for many people, eyesight treatment was not easily available…
Resources
A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses
It’s the biggest health crisis you’ve never heard of. Doctors, philanthropists and companies are trying to solve it.
World's Lack Of Vision Is Costing Us Our Eyesight
Despite the fact that so many of us wear the latest designer glasses, a staggering 2.5 billion people who need glasses don’t have them. The majority of people – 90% -- needlessly affected by poor vision live in the developing world. In many instances, they simply cannot get hold of a pair because local markets for affordable glasses do not exist.
The Eye Care Industry Focuses On Boomers -- And Millennials
This increase in demand for vision care is generationally driven. The G.I. Generation came of age with the sharpest rise in schooling ever recorded—making them the first generation to be pushed indoors for near work, and also likely the first generation to experience a significant rise in myopia rates. Later, Boomers experienced the advent of air conditioning from first-wave to last, which made the indoors a more comfortable space to spend time. This shift indoors has reached its peak with Millennials and Homelanders. Under the watchful eye of ever-protective Boomer and Xer parents, these kids have increasingly spent more time in the safety of their own homes—often hardly outside at all for days at a time. Researchers and doctors are fighting back against the shift, reminding parents that “sunlight is the best optometrist.”
Making Eyecare And Vision Screening Accessible To All
Worldwide, 36 million people are unable to see, with 80-90% living in developing countries. What's more, 80% are blind from causes that are curable or preventable. Andrew realized early on that for many people, eyesight treatment was not easily available and he desperately wanted to help.
Peek
Our Vision is to achieve vision and health for everybody. Our Mission is to create technology and health intelligence that empowers health service providers to deliver quality, sustainable eye and health care to everyone.
2020 Vision Quest
2020 Vision Quest inspires people to reach beyond adversity and achieve their highest goals -- personal, professional, and philanthropic. We believe in leading by example, in climbing the highest peaks, and in sharing our successes and challenges with each other.
Discovery Eye Foundation
The Discovery Eye Foundation supports research, education and advocacy related to sight-threatening eye diseases and their treatments, improving the quality of life for patients and their families.
Global Sight Alliance
The ultimate goal for GSA is to become a centralized, global portal for the cataract blindness community of NGOs, clinical researchers, ophthalmologists and other eye care professionals.
Light for the World
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD works to prevent blindness, restore eyesight and promote eye health. We aim to eradicate preventable and treatable eye diseases. Our major goal is to remove the physical, social, cultural and communication barriers that prevent equal access to high-quality eye-care services for all, especially for those living in poverty.
New Eyes
New Eyes empowers children and adults in the United States and overseas with the improved vision they need to pursue a better quality of life for themselves and their communities.
Olivia's Vision
The journey travelled by a chronic uveitis sufferer rarely feels straightforward. The new medical vocabulary and different medical opinions can be baffling. Calculating which specialist and treatment to push for seems like a minefield. Being diagnosed with a sight threatening disease few people have heard of can be an isolating experience. With Olivia’s Vision you need not feel alone. We’ve created a community whereby you can contact other adult uveitis sufferers and the parents of paediatric sufferers on our Forums, via email or by calling our Helpline.
Optometry Giving Sight
Optometry Giving Sight is the only global fundraising initiative that specifically targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error — simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses. More than 600 million people around the world are blind or vision impaired because they do not have access to the eye examination and glasses they need.
Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness America is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness America touches the lives of millions of people each year.
Unite for Sight
Unite For Sight supports eye clinics worldwide by investing human and financial resources in their social ventures to eliminate patient barriers to eye care. Unite For Sight applies best practices in eye care, public health, volunteerism, and social entrepreneurship to achieve our goal of high-quality eye care for all.
Vision Aid Overseas
Vision Aid Overseas is an international NGO (non-government organisation) based in the UK and working in six countries in Africa. We fight poverty by transforming access to eye care in developing countries.
VisionAware
If you have just begun to deal with vision loss, you probably have many questions, frustrations and even fears. VisionAware was created to help you answer those questions, and cope with those frustrations.
VisionSpring
Through our work, VisionSpring has learned that the BoP consumer is willing to pay up to 10% of his or her monthly income for the benefits associated with glasses. Even though our target customers have limited disposable income, they still value the ability to choose the style of frame that they feel most comfortable wearing. VisionSpring is committed to providing our customers with the dignity of choice.
Albinism Fellowship
The Fellowship is a positive and sociable volunteer-run organisation that aims to provide information, advice and support for people with albinism and their families. We also provide information about the condition to professionals working with people with albinism, and other appropriate interested parties.
Blinded Veterans Association
The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) is an organization of blinded veterans helping blinded veterans. Through our service programs, regional groups, resources, and advocacy before the legislative and executive branches of government, we hope to make life better for blinded veterans
Children's Glaucoma Foundation
The Children’s Glaucoma Foundation exists to support programs to benefit children affected by this important cause of childhood blindness. For the last 13 years childhood glaucoma awareness, physician education, and support of basic research programs have been supported.
Eye Cancer Foundation
Established in 1998 as The EyeCare Foundation, we focused on eye cancer and became The Eye Cancer Foundation. We are an educational and supportive resource for eye cancer patients, their families, and physicians. Our mission is two-fold: one part focused on multi-centered research of new diagnostic treatments for eye cancer research, the other focused on providing much needed patient support services.
Eye Dog Foundation
We have developed this website to help our visitors become better informed about our programs and guide dogs in general. There is a wealth of information about our training program for the guide dogs and their handlers, our puppy raising program as well as information on how you can help us to continue providing this much appreciated service for our friends who have impaired vision.
EyeCare America
Founded in 1985, EyeCare America is a public service foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Our mission is to reduce avoidable blindness and severe visual impairment by raising awareness about eye disease and care, providing free eye health educational materials and facilitating access to medical eye care.
Foundation Fighting Blindness
The urgent mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc. is to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.
Guide Dogs of America
Guide Dogs of America provides guide dogs and instruction in their use, free of charge, to blind and visually impaired men and women from the United States and Canada.
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
A non-profit, cross-disability organization representing people partnered with guide, hearing and service dogs.
International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment
International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) is a global association of individuals and organizations that promotes equal access to appropriate education for all children and youth with visual impairment so that they may achieve their full potential.
International Guide Dog Federation
Our vision is of a world in which all blind and partially sighted people who can benefit, are able to enjoy a high quality, professional guide dog service which provides well-trained dogs as safe and efficient guides for them and enables their independent mobility.
Macular Degeneration Foundation
The Macular Degeneration Foundation is dedicated to those who have and will develop macular degeneration. We offer this growing community the latest information, news, hope and encouragement.
Micro and Anophthalmic Children's Society
We are the Micro and Anophthalmic Children’s Society — the UK’s national charity for children born without eyes or with underdeveloped eyes. We support families of children born with Microphthalmia (small eyes), Anophthalmia (no eyes) and/or Coloboma (cleft of the eye).
National Eye Institute
As part of the federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Eye Institute's mission is to "conduct and support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation of sight, and the special health problems and requirements of the blind."
National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest, largest, and most influential nationwide membership organization of blind people in the United States. Founded in 1940, the NFB advocates for the civil rights and equality of blind Americans, and develops innovative education, technology, and training programs to provide the blind and those who are losing vision with the tools they need to become independent and successful.
National Keratoconus Foundation
The National Keratoconus Foundation (NKCF) is an outreach program of the Discovery Eye Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The NKCF is dedicated to increasing the awareness and understanding of keratoconus and the support of scientific research into the cause and treatment of keratoconus.
National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation
NOAH is a national organization of people with albinism, their families, and professionals who work with them. NOAH provides information and support regarding various types of albinism, promotes public and professional education about these conditions, and encourages research and funding that will lead to improved diagnosis and management of albinism.
National Service Animal Registry
Since we began providing certification and registry services to the public, the experience of the owners of dogs registered with National Service Animal Registry has proven to be highly positive. 94% of the time, businesses will not confront you about your dog once they have seen the NSAR patch or apparel on the dog.
Nystagmus Network
The leading patient information, support and scientific research charity for nystagmus in Europe. Our aims are to support people with nystagmus, encourage research into nystagmus and raise awareness of nystagmus.
RetNet
RetNet provides tables of genes and loci causing inherited retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and Usher syndrome, and related information. This information is provided to the research community and other interested individuals for research purposes only
The Glaucoma Foundation
The mission of The Glaucoma Foundation (TGF) is to develop a cure for glaucoma through innovative research and collaboration. Founded in1984 by Dr. Robert Ritch, TGF is one of the premier not-for-profit organizations dedicated to eradicating blindness from glaucoma through vital research and education.
World Blind Union
The World Blind Union (WBU) is the global organization representing the estimated 285 million people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. Members are organizations of and for the blind in 190 countries, as well as international organizations working in the field of vision impairment. ​
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
AAPOS is the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. The organization's goals are to advance the quality of children's eye care, support the training of pediatric ophthalmologists, support research activities in pediatric ophthalmology, and advance the care of adults with strabismus.
American Association of the Deaf-Blind
AADB is a national consumer organization of, by, and for deaf-blind Americans and their supporters. “Deaf-blind” includes all types and degrees of dual vision and hearing loss. Our membership consists of deaf-blind people from diverse backgrounds, as well as family members, professionals, interpreters, and other interested supporters.
American Council of the Blind
The American Council of the Blind strives to increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and quality of life, for all blind and visually-impaired people.
American Foundation for the Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind removes barriers, creates solutions, and expands possibilities so people with vision loss can achieve their full potential.
American Nystagmus Network
The American Nystagmus Network serves the needs and interests of those who are affected by Nystagmus.
Canadian Vision Care
A Canadian non-profit organization consisting of eye health care professionals who donate time and resources to the development of vision care in the 3rd world.
European Blind Union
WELCOME TO EBU, the united voice of millions of blind and partially sighted Europeans. EBU works towards an accessible and inclusive society with equal opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to fully participate in all aspects of social, economic, cultural and political life.
Royal National Institute of Blind People
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is the leading charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people with sight loss. If you or a loved one has a sight problem, we can help. We have practical ways to help you live with sight loss.
US Support Animals Registry
Your service animal or emotional support animal will be registered with the U.S. Service and Support Animals Registry Database for the entire life of the animal.
Introducing Stitches!
Your Path to Meaningful Connections in the World of Health and Medicine
Connect, Collaborate, and Engage!
Coming Soon - Stitches, the innovative chat app from the creators of HWN. Join meaningful conversations on health and medical topics. Share text, images, and videos seamlessly. Connect directly within HWN's topic pages and articles.
