Why it matters
Most people never think about the federal programs that protect their eyes, and that’s exactly the point. When these programs work, a child’s vision problem is treated because they had their vision screened at school and were able to access eye care through a referral. A public health official uses vision loss data to identify accessibility needs and guide improvements across a city. A new treatment reaches patients because federal investment supported the research behind it. These programs are working in the background of our everyday lives, and they are the backbone of how eye diseases are detected and prevented in this country. When these programs’ funding is cut, notably during the federal budget and appropriations process that happens annually in Congress, incidents of vision loss, eye disease, and blindness happen to people when they could have been prevented.
Prevent Blindness advocates to protect these programs and grow the federal investment in vision and eye health research and public health, because robust, reliable funding is what turns good intentions into care that reaches people and helps to prevent blindness and preserve sight.
The eye health programs we fight for
The CDC’s Vision Health Initiative (VHI)
The prevention engine. Through its Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS), the VHI tracks rates of vision loss and eye disease happening across the country to identify where gaps in eye care access exist, provides the public with resources to help them understand how to protect their vision and access care, and funds the state and community programs that detect eye disease like glaucoma early so people at highest risk can access treatment and prevent sight loss.
The National Eye Institute (NEI)
The research engine. The NEI funds the science behind many of today’s innovative treatments and is the reason why diagnoses that once meant blindness now have real options for real people. Prevent Blindness helped advocate for creation of the NEI nearly 60 years ago, and we work to protect and grow its research budget today and for the future.
What this funding protects: a real example
More than 4 million Americans have glaucoma, but according to the CDC, half don’t know it. The disease usually has no noticeable symptoms to the patient in the early stages, and by the time changes to vision become apparent, vision lost to glaucoma cannot be restored. Early detection and treatment can protect sight before that damage occurs.
Through the CDC-funded SIGHT studies in Alabama, Michigan, and New York City, more than 4,500 people in underserved communities received eye health screenings. More than 1,000 were identified with glaucoma, suspected glaucoma, or elevated eye pressure requiring further evaluation. Sustained funding can help bring these screening approaches to more communities and connect more people to needed eye care.
This is why Prevent Blindness advocates throughout Congress’s annual budget and appropriations process: to secure sustained funding for both public health and research, so people can get the right eye care at the right time and benefit from innovations that protect sight.
Take action
Tell Congress to protect the research and public health programs that protect our sight.
