WGD_Singapore

Singapore

新加坡

World Glaucoma Day in Singapore


	March 6th 2008 will be the first ever World Glaucoma Day (WGD), a joint global initiative of the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) and the World Glaucoma Patient Association (WGPA)Because glaucoma is a progressive disease causing irreversible visual loss, usually without warning until relatively advanced, and because 50% of affected people in the developed world - and up to 90% in developing countries - do not know they have it and are not on treatment, we believe that community awareness needs to be significantly increased. This includes awareness of the disease and of the need to have regular eye checks, thereby permitting earlier detection and avoidance of what should be preventable visual disability. ___________________________ George Lambrou: Fighting the glaucoma pandemic poses some complex challenges. Although this disease is globally one of the first causes of blindness, it doesn't elicit a 'sympathy factor' like other blinding diseases, mainly because of the wide geographical variation of required glaucoma-prevention measures. More specifically, in developing countries plagued by cataract or river-blindness, there is little incentive to invest resources in diagnosing a disease that will require lifelong treatment and sophisticated follow-up. In developed countries, the pharma industry and the health authorities alike consider that it is a relatively well-addressed disease with limited unmet needs - especially compared to conditions like cancer, AIDS or, in the ophthalmology area, retinal degenerations. Furthermore, the specific visual needs of the glaucoma patients are not well known by the authorities, the doctors - nor by the patients themselves, sometimes! Add to these considerations the amazing fact that globally, for every diagnosed glaucoma patient there is an undiagnosed one, and the need for increased glaucoma awareness, advocacy, prevention and education becomes obvious. To jumpstart a global and highly visible effort to coordinate activities in these areas, the WGA and AIGPO have taken the initiative of organizing the first World Glaucoma Day on March 6, 2008, hopefully to be established as an annual event. While significant efforts are directed at achieving recognition of the WGD by national or international organizations (several countries are considering issuing WGD stamps, for instance), this will mostly be a day for local events to be simultaneously organized around the globe: newspaper articles, radio/TV coverage, screening campaigns, 'open-door' days at glaucoma clinics and so on. As these events will ultimately rely on voluntary work at every level, the WGA is calling upon all enthusiastic and resourceful volunteers, to propose and implement new ideas for local and global events, in order to make the first World Glaucoma Day a resounding success. -------------------------- Tackling the Glaucoma Pandemic George N. Lambrou, MD, MSc, PhD Global Project Leader, World Glaucoma Day We have all heard it many times: “Glaucoma is the second most common treatable cause of blindness worldwide.” Indeed, we have heard this so often that many of us have stopped asking ourselves whether there is anything we can do about it. When we hear that glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness, the questions that typically spring to mind are: “What is the leading cause?” and “Why are these diseases so prevalent?” These are important issues, so let us start by looking at them. In developing countries, cataract is the leading cause of blindness. While cataract is an eminently avoidable cause of blindness, limited access to surgery in the developing world makes it expensive and difficult to reduce the prevalence of cataract blindness. In developed countries the leading cause of blindness is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is mainly due to aging populations and the absence of effective means to avoid visual deterioration in most forms of macular disease. In other words, the reasons underlying the prevalence of these two diseases are structural and, despite significant advances in understanding that have been made in recent years, the fight against blindness caused by either AMD or cataract will likely continue for some time. Glaucoma is Different The main reason why glaucoma is the number-two cause of blindness in both developing and developed countries, and therefore a global pandemic, is neither lack of effective preventive treatment nor limited access to a sophisticated surgical infrastructure but rather simple ignorance. It is estimated that up to 50% of glaucoma patients worldwide are unaware that they have the disease and are therefore unknowingly and asymptomatically losing their sight. It is with good reason that glaucoma has been dubbed the “sneak thief of sight” or the “silent blinding disease.” Thus, the fight against the glaucoma pandemic is primarily a matter of raising awareness of the disease. The public needs to know that there are means for detecting and treating glaucoma and that sight can be saved. In this respect, glaucoma is akin to breast or cervical cancer: the prognosis is far better when there is early detection in an asymptomatic stage. In the case of breast and cervical cancers, awareness campaigns have made preventive screening familiar concepts to women in most developed countries; and this has reduced overall mortality. World Glaucoma Day To combat the ignorance that leads to so much loss of sight in glaucoma, the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) and the World Glaucoma Patient Association (WGPA) have joined forces to launch a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of glaucoma. The establishment of an annual World Glaucoma Day has been selected as a way to jumpstart awareness activities and to enlist the active support of government, eyecare professionals, and patient support groups around the world. The first World Glaucoma Day will take place March 6, 2008, and, rather than have it be a single big event held in conjunction with a major ophthalmic conference, it will be the sum total of local initiatives and events organized by willing groups and individuals around the world. These activities will include: media campaigns; official recognition (three countries will issue commemorative stamps and a delegation from the American Glaucoma Society will visit the US Congress); public-oriented events (eg, screenings in public places); and institutional events (open-door day at eye clinics and universities, with lectures addressed to professional and lay audiences). All these events, together with supporting material, general information on the disease, and useful links, will be listed at www.wgday.net. Your Participation Each of us can help make this a day to remember. The possibilities abound. Groups and individuals around the world have volunteered to organize events of the types described. Others have come up with original ideas: a national ophthalmology journal will publish a special glaucoma issue; other scientific journals will publish editorials on glaucoma; and a group of volunteers will run in the Geneva annual marathon under the WGD colors. In Latin America a tongue-in-cheek movie has been produced to remind patients humorously that compliance with therapy is the best way to keep the “sneak thief of sight” at bay. The possibilities are endless, but the success of the day will depend not only on the number and attendance of events organized globally, but also on their visibility. So, to maximize the impact of this initiative, please take a moment to fill out and send in the Expression-of-Intent form on page 11 or visit either www.wgday.org or www.wgday.net and tell the world how you will contribute to the success of the first-ever World Glaucoma Day. George N. Lambrou, MD, MSc, PhD, is Executive Vice-Chair of the World Glaucoma Patient Association Physician Liaison Committee and Global Project Leader, World Glaucoma Day. He can be contacted at gnlambrou@hotmail.com or george@lambrou.eu

REGISTERED OFFICE
GLAUCOMA PATIENTS
ASSOCIATION (SINGAPORE)
BLOCK 409, #01-303
SERANGOON CENTRAL
SINGAPORE 550409

Telephone : 6281-9869
Fax : 6288-9172
Email::
GLAUCOMA.patients@gmail.com

Participating....

Glaucoma Patients Association (S)
Glaucoma Society (Singapore)
SNEC Glaucoma Patient Support
Group
TTSH Glaucoma Patient Support
Group (Mandarin)
NUH Glaucoma Patient Support Group
AH Patient Support Group

Supported by....

National University Hospital
(Department of Ophthalmology)
Singapore National Eye Centre
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (Department of
Ophthalmology)
Alexandra Hospital & Jurong Medical
Centre (Department of Ophthalmology &
Visual Sciences)

WORLD GLAUCOMA DAY EVENTS

Around the World...

New York

Australia

Canada

World Glaucoma Day Website

Sponsors:

NVPC - for providing venue
for WGD Events & hosting
of Poster Exhibition at
Level-4 Gallery, The Giving
Place

Media:

A GPAS In-house Production

Eye Screening:

There will be an Eye Screening for
family members of Glaucoma patients
aged 40 and above. NUH KRW Eye
Clinic Level 3 on 29 Mar 2008,
9.00-11.30am.
If interested, please call
67725390/67725352

世界青光眼日

How to put your eye drops in

A patient's perspective -
Is compliance that difficult?

SNEC Patient
Support Group

World Glaucoma Day – Thursday, 6 March 2008

Singapore National Eye
Centre

Date: 8 March 2008
Venue: SNEC Auditorium

Time: <to be announced>

Eye Screening

National University
Hospital - Glaucoma
Patients Association
(Singapore)

Date: 8 March 2008
Venue: The Central #04-88

Time:
English Session 10am to
12noon (capacity 150
persons)
Mandarin Session 2pm to 4pm
(capacity 150 persons)

Eye Screening: by
appointment at hospital

Poster Exhibition
6 to 8 March 2008

Tan Tock Seng Hospital-
Glaucoma Society
(Singapore)

Date: 8 March 2008
Venue: TTSH Auditorium

Time: 8.30am to 12.30pm

Eye Screening

Screening Events, Public Educational, Dissemination of Information and
Promotion of Glaucoma Awareness Events

enter

Prevention of Blindness in Singapore:
No Room for Complacency
Editorial—Kah-Guan Au Eong and Chee-
Chew Yip
October 2007, Vol. 36 (Suppl) No. 10
Annals Academy of Medicine