Why there is a need for LEHP

Adult Eye Health

• Nearly 575,000 Australians are vision impaired in both eyes. Which means they do not have enough sight to legally drive a motor vehicle.
• This figure could increase to 801,000 by the year 2020.
• The prevalence of vision loss trebles with each decade over 40 years. Thus as our Australian population continues to increase so do does the number of people with vision impairment.
• Three quarters of vision impairment is either avoidable or treatable.
• That is approximately 431,000 people whose quality of life has been affected by vision loss, where the loss could have been avoided.

In addition to the human and individual effects of vision loss in Australia. There is also a significant financial burden. Statistics presented by Access Economics have demonstrated that the annual hollistic cost of vision disorders in Australian is 16 billion dollars. The estimated annual costs of vision disorders in Australia, is greater than the financial costs which are associated with other health conditions such as depression, stroke, diabetes and asthma.
We also know that for the vision impaired there is a higher risk of falls and hip fractures, an increased risk of depression and social dependance and people with significant vision loss are more likely to be admitted to a nursing home much earlier than others of a similar age.

Children’s Eye Health

• 1 in 5 children has an undetected vision problem
• More than 411,000 children in Australia have a long-term eye disorder
• Most of these conditions are related to near or far sightedness

At the 1925 Lions Clubs International Convention Helen Keller challenged Lions to make vision loss and blindness one of their key involvements.
In the words of Helen Keller “will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in this crusade against darkness”.