Sight Programs:
In 1990, Lions established SightFirst, a US$143.5 million global initiative to fight the major causes of preventable and reversible blindness. The unprecedented program joins Lions volunteers with blindness prevention experts and organizations and governments. SightFirst has:
- provided more than 3.2 million cataract surgeries
- built or expanded 136 eye hospitals
- treated more than 36 million people to prevent river blindness
- improved eye care in dozens of countries around the world.
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Other sight-related support activities:
- provide 600,000 free professional glaucoma screenings and make 25,000 corneal transplants possible each year
- establish and support a majority of the world's eye banks, hundreds of clinics, hospitals and eye research centers worldwide
- collect more than 5.2 million pairs of unwanted eyeglasses annually for free distribution to those in need in developing countries
- offer screenings, eyeglasses and sports goggles to athletes through the Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes Program
- provide free quality eye care, eyeglasses, Braille-writers, large print texts, white canes and guide dogs for thousands of people each year.
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