PREMIUM has been supporting the organisation LIGHT FOR THE WORLD in close cooperation for many years. This year PREMIUM has financially supported the committed association with a donation of more than € 90,000.
Trachoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Over 1.9 million people have lost their sight due to trachoma. The Tigray region, with a population of 5.4 million, is particularly hard hit. There the infection rate is 26%, meaning that 1.4 million people are at risk of going blind.Sadly it is mainly children who are affected.
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is an international organization for inclusive development. It saves eyesight and enables people with disabilities to have a self-determined future. The goal is an inclusive society that is open to all and leaves no one behind.
Especially in a year marked by a pandemic, it is even more important to ensure aid to the most remote regions. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is committed to the provision of eye care, mobile aid missions, operations and the distribution of medicines, as well as the fight against neglected tropical diseases, especially in regions like Tigray. In order to fight diseases in a sustainable way, ophthalmologists and specialized personnels are trained and educated.
Due to the lockdown necessary eye surgeries in the partner countries has been postponed or shifted, additionally blind people were asked to wait longer for their treatment. Despite the current measures and especially because of a pandemic like this, the implementation of the SAFE strategy is even more important. Not only does it serve as a tool to eradicate trichomes altogether, but the SAFE strategy is an urgent tool in order to educate diseases and infections.
For more information, visit www.licht-fuer-die-welt.at
