Trinidad and Tobago Hosts World Sight Day Exhibition

In observance of World Sight Day, volunteers have partnered with the National Library and Information System Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (NALIS) to mount an eye care exhibition starting today and open until November 10 at the ground floor rotunda of the Port of Spain library.

 

The exhibition, which highlights eye health issues that impact lives everywhere, replaces the annual Walk For Sight organised since 2005 by the volunteers under the leadership of Dr. Desirée Murray, ophthalmologist and lecturer at The University of the West Indies, Del Philips, assistant professor, University of the Southern Caribbean, and Tayab Razac — medical representative Merck.

 

It will also honour this country’s first ophthalmic surgeon Dr Arthur Hutton McShine, mayor of Port of Spain from 1921-1922. He was a former student of Queen’s Royal College and served the Co-operative Bank for 32 years.

Specially invited guests will view the exhibition from 9.30 am on Wednesday after which the official opening ceremony will take place at 10am in the NALIS audiovisual room, corner Hart and Abercromby Streets. Anthony Smart, chairman of First Citizen’s Bank will deliver the feature address.

 

A symposium on eye care and blindness prevention, hosted by the University of the West Indies Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, will follow from 11.30am to 2pm. It is free and open to the public.

Topics to be discussed include cataract, glaucoma, pterygium, diabetic retinopathy, primary eye care, the red eye, uncorrected refractive error, prevention of falls in the elderly and prevention of eye injuries.

World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness which focuses global attention on blindness and vision impairment.

The 2017 call to action is Make Vision Count, with emphasis on those who are especially vulnerable: the young, school children and the elderly.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the major causes of avoidable blindness and vision impairment in these at risk groups include uncorrected refractive error, cataract, glaucoma and diabetes.