Eliminating avoidable blindness

Just close your eyes for a few moments and feel how dreadful the darkness is. Millions of people in the world are living permanently with this dreadful darkness, in other word blindness. Many of these are still blind simply because they are unaware of treatment option or treatment in inaccessible.
Media can disseminate more information both critically and crucially to help eliminate avoidable blindness. Mass media have the potential to reach large numbers of population to disseminate information for making awareness in preventing avoidable blindness and helping the blind children see.
Thus the messages should be delivered based on population, target audiences, their languages, needs and demands. A key element of effective mass media is initial research and testing of programmes before print or broadcast to ensure that messages are simple, relevant, attention-growing, easily-understandable, and attractive.
In terms of behaviour change communication, it is generally accepted that mass media are particularly appropriate when the behaviour changes are to be promoted. Even those, who are underpinned by strong cultural beliefs, mass media need to be supplemented by more intensive community-based approaches.
Advocacy through media includes all activities designed to raise awareness about the importance of blindness prevention among all, from the grassroots level to policy making level, mobilise resources, and integrate blindness prevention programmes with other programmes.
Advocacy can also lead to enactment and enforcement of laws that place on a legal footing the obligations of governments to ensure the 'Right to Sight'. The print, electronic, online, and social media have huge opportunities to contribute to preventing avoidable blindness and help achieve the goals of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight. Even many profit or non-profit organisations may use media for advocacy in eliminating avoidable blindness as part of their corporate social responsibilities.

The writer is a journalist and human rights activist. E-mail: parvezbabul@gmail.com